Walkabout
by J R LeDoux
Summary: What do you do if you aren't sure who you are? How can you expect your friends to accept you if you can't accept yourself? Naruto sets out to discover who he truly is by going through an ancient tradition: A Walkabout
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"_The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want."_  
–Ben Stein

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**Note: **I made some changes to the conversation with Hinata to clarify things that weren't well articulated.** (07-26-09)**

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Naruto stared up at the bland, off-white ceiling. He hated this place. He looked over at the window, wishing he could climb out of the hospital bed and get back to training. The fight with Gaara had been severe, and he was paying for that battle now, Sasuke was only just conscious, but that wasn't what was bothering him so much.

The old man was dead. The Third Hokage had fought that terrible Orochimaru, and had died.

_It's not fair old man,_ Naruto thought to himself. _You left but I'm still here._

Naruto had been lying in the hospital bed for three days now, and he had used the time to think, since there was nothing else he could do. Occasionally the nurses would check on him, but mostly he was alone. Except for when Hinata came in yesterday, he remembered with a smile.

* * *

"_Naruto-kun…" Hinata said as she entered the room. He looked so peaceful lying there._

"_Yeah?" Naruto said, looking over at his visitor. Hinata yelped in surprise._

"_Oh… I just… came by to see how you were." Her face was turning a deep red. Naruto broke into a huge smile._

"_Thanks, Hinata! I haven't had many visitors!"_

* * *

Naruto chuckled at the memory, before returning to his first line of though.

One of the things that was bothering him was that the Third had looked out for him a lot. Who would the new Hokage be? Would they be as helpful?

"Hey kid." Naruto snapped his eyes back to the window and saw Jiraiya standing on the balcony outside. Both of them smiled.

"Hey ero-sennin!" Jiraiya sighed.

"You ever gonna stop calling me that kid?" Naruto looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Why would I stop? You _are_ a pervert!" Jiraiya looked genuinely hurt.

"That's my life's work!" Naruto looked less than impressed.

"Well your life's work is perverted!"

They stared at each other for a few silent moments before Jiraiya spoke again.

"Sorry to bring more bad news kid, but I came to tell you that you weren't one of the Genin selected to become a Chunin." Naruto scowled and looked down at the blankets. Of course not. Why had he hoped for anything else? "You did real good kid, especially given the circumstances. You should be proud… I'm proud of you."

"Yeah…" Naruto said dejectedly. "I guess…" Jiraiya frowned. He wished he had something to cheer the boy up.

"I'll be back later kid. Once you get out of here, you and me are going to train some more." Naruto just looked at his blankets, not even glancing at the Toad Sage.

"Alright…" Jiraiya jumped out the window, a bit shaken. There was something unsettling about seeing Naruto with such a clear expression of defeat.

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Sasuke was similarly staring at the hospital ceiling, unblinking.

_How did Naruto get so strong?_ He ran over the events again and again. Gaara hadn't even had to particularly try against him, but Naruto had been able to defeat him. _This is pathetic… I'm sitting here in the hospital and I didn't even put up a real fight._

Sasuke heard the door open, but didn't look. Either it was a nurse, in which case he didn't care, or it was a fangirl, in which case he didn't want to encourage them.

"I see you're doing better," the voice said. It was male. Sasuke looked over to see an old man with bandages on his head, covering his forehead and right eye.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked bluntly.

"I am part of Konoha's council," he explained. After a few moments it was obvious that the man felt no obligation to elaborate. "The council is always interested in the progress of the last Uchiha."

"I am not the last," Sasuke said plainly. "Not yet." The man smiled.

"Ah, yes, Itachi." They were both silent for a while, and Sasuke looked back at the ceiling. "Are you curious about Naruto?" Sasuke looked back over at the old man suspiciously.

"Perhaps." Sasuke tried to study the old man's face. "What is there to know?"

"Aren't you curious how such a low-rate ninja could defeat someone like Gaara?" Sasuke was instantly alert. He knew there had to have been a reason for Naruto's sudden change.

"Yes," Sasuke replied simply.

"The truth has to do with a terrible night many years ago. The Kyuubi attacked the village, as you know. But what you do not know is that he did not kill the demon, he sealed it. Into Naruto." Sasuke tried to jump up, but his body was still too fragile, and he gave a hiss of pain as his body relaxed again onto the bed.

_Of course! The eyes and the different chakra! His incredible stamina! It all makes sense!_ Sasuke looked back at the man.

"Why doesn't anyone know?" The old man looked thoughtful.

"Only the kids from your generation don't know. The Third passed a law forbidding anyone to tell you about it." He paused for a moment. "But the Third is gone." Sasuke's mind was racing at this new information. Naruto was dangerous to the village! He needed to tell everyone they knew.

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"Alright, we're all here," Sakura said. She looked around, Naruto and Lee were missing, but neither of them were supposed to be here. Except for them, all the Konoha Genin that had made it through the Forest of Death were in the room, per Sasuke's request. "Why weren't we supposed to tell Naruto to come? I think he could have made it to this room."

"No, this is about him." Everyone looked at Sasuke expectantly. "I was told by a member of the council earlier today that Naruto is the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon that attacked Konoha years ago." Everyone in the room gasped, and an uncomfortable silence fell between all of them.

"How is that possible?" Kiba asked. "I thought the Fourth killed it." Sasuke shook his head.

"No, he sealed it into Naruto." Everyone was quiet for a while.

"I saw it," Neji said quietly. "During our fight, I could see it."

_Oh Naruto,_ Hinata thought. _Now it all makes sense… Why everyone treats you so badly._

"I…" Hinata spoke, drawing everyone's eyes. "I don't think… think that's the s—same thing, Sasuke. It's sealed inside him, it isn't him." Neji was quiet, but Sasuke responded immediately.

"Clearly your judgment is clouded by the fact that you've been fawning after him for years."

Hinata squeaked in surprise and saw everyone look at her. They all knew! She could feel tears begin to well up in her eyes. No… she couldn't cry in front of everyone… Hinata turned and ran without looking back.

"That was cold," Kiba said. "You didn't have to say that." Sasuke shook his head dismissively.

"I'm not going to sugar-coat the truth." Another uncomfortable silence spread, until Sakura spoke up.

"What should we do?" Neji looked over at her.

"Why do we need to do anything? We should have heard this from Naruto."

"What?" Kiba declared hotly. "The Kyuubi is running around Konoha! I could have been killed in my match with him! We need to do something." Sasuke nodded.

"When I get out, we'll all meet and figure out what to do. It shouldn't be too long."

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Naruto sighed. After only one more day the hospital had let him go. At least the Kyuubi was good for something.

It had been just in time to go to the Third's funeral. Naruto had gone, as had most of the village, to pay his respects, and he was on his way home right now, still wearing his black outfit. He had hoped that maybe his effort in saving the village would have earned him some respect, but instead it seemed the villages were treating him worse than ever. And on top of that, it seemed like all his friends were acting weird too. Sakura had avoided him completely at the funeral.

He was so lost in thought he almost didn't notice the characteristic pink hair go by.

"Sakura!" Naruto ran to catch up, as the girl slowly turned with an uncomfortable look.

"Oh, er, hi Naruto. I've, um… got to go. Things to do you know. I'll see you later!" And with that she left, Naruto watching her retreating form with mounting confusion. _What's going on?_

"Get out of here, demon." Naruto whirled around to see Kiba standing there with Akamaru. Naruto's eyes became large. _Does he know?_

"What do you mean?" Kiba growled.

"Sasuke told us about the Kyuubi." Naruto froze in complete shock. How had Sasuke found out? Then realization hit him: everyone knew. That's why Sakura was avoiding him.

Naruto rushed away, not even caring what Kiba had to say. He ran as fast as his feet could carry him until he was inside his apartment, the shadows filling the small place with gloom.

_They all think I'm a demon._ Naruto thought. He went over to his bed and laid down. _All my friends... Maybe I don't have friends anymore._ The thought brought tears to his eyes, and for the first time in years, Naruto cried himself to sleep.

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_What's that smell?_ Naruto thought, slowly waking up. It was awful. He got up and looked around, but the smell seemed to be coming from his front door. He opened it to find a pile of rotten eggs, and sight with the smell cause him to vomit, though he thankfully made it to the bathroom in time.

He cleaned it up without much trouble, but it brought back memories of a time he had hoped would never return, and in an effort to ignore the feelings he was having, Naruto decided simply to go out to a training field and practice the day away.

He took care to avoid anyone he knew along the way. He didn't know if he could stand to see their hateful gazes on him.

When he got to the training field, he found it deserted, which suited him just fine. He walked up to the nearest stump and began to let out his frustration, tears beginning to form in his eyes once more as he punched and kicked, over and over and over.

From not too far away Hinata watched, and she felt hert heart breaking as she saw how hurt he was. He needed someone to be there! But… she couldn't. She hated herself for it. She tried to step out, to go talk to him and comfort him in the way he'd always seemed to comfort her, but she couldn't. Hinata looked down, feeling shame. She truly was a failure.

Hinata watched for an hour before she couldn't bear it anymore, and left. Every tear falling off his face was a shattered dream to her, and she had to leave before her own world began to shatter.

The sun was beginning to fall, and the afternoon was passing, and Naruto's hands were raw. But he didn't care. He kept punching harder, and harder, and harder. How he wished he could get rid of the damn fox and be normal.

However Hinata had not been the only person watching. Jiraiya watched his newest apprentice with genuine sorrow. _That was beyond low, Danzo._ He gritted his teeth. _I'll make sure you pay for this._

Jiraiya jumped off, a plan forming in his head.

Naruto just continued to practice, if you could call it practice. It was much more like taking out aggression and frustration on random forest plants.

But unlike chakra, Naruto's capacity to feel emotion was not limitless, and by late afternoon he simply didn't have the will to continue hitting things. Today was a total loss.

_What can I do?_ he thought. For a few minutes Naruto sat against the stump, running over the same questions in his head. He wasn't sure what he would do, but he would do something. He had to do something. He couldn't live like he did before… not after having people that cared about him… respected him…

Naruto walked slowly back to his apartment, fully expecting there to be some nasty surprise waiting for him like this morning. He stared at the ground in front of him as he walked, ignoring the people around him. It was how he had dealt with people back before… everything.

Walking into his apartment, Naruto's eyes darted around, and his hand grabbed a kunai. Were there any traps? He didn't see any, but that was the point of most traps. Naruto put his kunai away, but noticed a scroll on his table. Suspicious, Naruto approached carefully. No one gave him scrolls at face value…

He opened it, expecting some sort of seal, only to find it was an information scroll. _I wonder who left this here?_

He began to read.

_The Walkabout_

_A "Walkabout" is a traditional rite of passage for some cultures. The premise involves a spiritual journey of self-realization, in which the person leaves their village to live amongst the far off places. Depending on the culture, a Walkabout often involves retracing places talked about in village myth as a way to honor and communicate with the ancestors that have since passed._

"Huh," Naruto said.

_In other cases a Walkabout was a means of finding one-self, or of discovering "how to be". In these cases the focus is much more on self-realization, and often involves wandering without a destination in search of a truth they don't yet know. The idea is that they cannot find the truth where they are, thus they must leave to find the spiritual truth of themselves wherever it may be._

_A Walkabout may be as short as a week, but has been known to be as long as six months in some cases. In nearly all cases, the people who go upon the journey say they come back with a level of comfort with who they are. Many say they find a part of themselves on the journey they'd never discover otherwise._

"Hmmm…" Naruto's mind was racing. This was sounding like a pretty good idea.

_Usually, a part of a Walkabout is trusting yourself, or sometimes trusting the universe, to provide for your well-being. Often a person on a Walkabout carries little or no money, has no means to be reached, and doesn't carry food or provisions, except water. Everything else is earned through hard work as it is needed, or given by life as fate sees fit._

Naruto paused for a moment, taking in everything he'd read.

"I'll do it," Naruto said confidently. "I'm going on a Walkabout."

Naruto searched his apartment quickly with his eyes. He wasn't going to take much with him… some money for things besides food… maybe a pan or two… his ninja gear… a canteen… a sleeping bag…

Yes, that sounded good.

Everything else would have to be hidden though. He was sure that when he got back everything he left out would be stolen or broken. As soon as the villagers found out he'd left, he would honestly be surprised if they didn't try to burn this place down.

Naruto shook his head. They were all wrong about him. He was going to show them… he'd come back a better person, and then they'd see him for what he was, not for what he contained. He packed his backpack quickly, gathering his other belongings in a second pack. That included his life savings.

_Where should I put it?_ Suddenly he had an idea. A mischevious grin spread across his face, and he darted out of his apartment at top speed. In just a few minutes he arrived at the memorial to those killed by Kyuubi. No one would think to look for his things here.

He counted ten paces south then dug a small hole next to a bush, before stowing the pack there and covering it back up. Using the best of his ninja knowledge, he used the surrounding foliage to make it seem like it wasn't newly disturbed earth.

"There. I guess the only thing left to do is tell ero-sennin." He paused. Jiraiya might try to stop him. In that case he'd deliver a note instead.

Naruto quickly scrawled a succinct note: _I've gone on a Walkabout. Be back sometime. –Naruto_

He rolled it onto a kunai and headed over to the hot springs Jiraiya often spied on. He wasn't there now, but Naruto was sure he would be before the day was over. He threw the kunai right next to the peeping hole the Toad Sage used and started for the main gate.

_I wonder if anyone will miss me?_ Naruto thought. _Iruka-sensei might… he knew about the fox. That's why he's a precious person. Kakashi-sensei knew…_ Naruto sighed. It couldn't be helped. He truly felt he needed this journey. This experience.

He looked up and realized he was nearing the gate. He'd have to make a run for it once he got out… the guards probably would want to ask him questions.

"W-Where are you go-going, Naruto-kun?" He spun around quickly to see Hinata staring demurely at him. He smiled. She was always nice to him.

"I'm leaving," he said. She looked hurt. "I just have to… find myself."

Hinata was torn by two immediate instincts. One told her to hide and cry. To pretend that there was nothing she could do, and to quietly accept what was happening. But another part of her, a part that had gained confidence fighting Neji, and a part that had become strong watching Naruto in the exams, told her that this was it. If she loved him at all… if she cared about anything that happened to him, he needed her now, and she couldn't afford to hesitate. In a split second, she made up her mind, without actually thinking about it. In the end, her emotions overcame her conditioning when it truly mattered.

"But Naruto-kun, you can't leave!" There was an urgency in her voice that surprised him. "I… I love you…" As soon as she said it her hands flew up to cover her mouth, and her eyes grew wide in surprise. She hadn't meant to say that. Suddenly the strength which had overcome her faded, and she was left bare in front of the boy she'd aspired to for years. She felt… naked in front of him. Like now he could see all of her, and would see all her faults.

Naruto took just a second to realize what she'd said. Could she really mean that?

"Ano… you… you know about… the fox… right?" Naruto was almost afraid to ask. No one who knew about the fox could love him, right? But she nodded her head, and a cool sense of relief washed over him.

If he was honest with himself he'd always liked how friendly Hinata was, but she'd always been a bit weird. Pretty, but weird. But even Naruto could figure out why when faced with a confession like this.

"It's alright if you don't feel the same," Hinata said sadly. She felt horrible at the way he had grown quiet, yet felt a freedom in knowing that she'd finally said it. Naruto looked concerned.

"No!" he shouted. "It's not that! It's just…" He paused. "I have to do this. I need this… for me…" He looked into her eyes, realizing he'd taken a few steps towards her. She was very pretty now that he thought about it. Very. "I… I can't love anyone until I find myself. I don't even know what love is." Hinata nodded sadly. Naruto took the last few steps and placed a hand on her shoulder. "But I think you're awesome Hinata, and I like you a lot."

Hinata smiled brightly. _He likes me._

"Can I come with you?" Naruto looked shocked. She must actually love him. She wanted to throw away her friends here to follow him on this… this goose chase.

"No… I have to do this alone." She looked sad, but resigned. As if she'd expected the answer but had been hoping against it all the same. "But… I'll send you letters while I'm away, okay?" She looked at him strangely.

"How?" Naruto gave one of his characteristic smiles. The ones that made her knees melt.

"With my awesome summon technique of course! Gamakichi-kun is always helpful." Hinata smiled fondly. She loved it when he talked like that. A thought suddenly crossed her mind, and after everything that had already been sad, she found it easy to gather the courage to ask it.

"Can… Can I have a kiss before you go?" Naruto looked mortified for a moment. Not because he thought kissing Hinata would be bad, but because he was terrified of doing it really poorly and losing a person who loved him. "I know it's selfish of me," she said. "But… I don't know when you'll be back… and I've wanted to for so long." Her cheeks flared up in a full-scale Hinata blush. Naruto looked lost.

"Er… I don't really know… how…" In spite of all her embaressment, Hinata giggled. He could be so cute sometimes.

"That's okay, neither do I."

Naruto gulped and stared into Hinata's eyes before slowly looking down at her lips. They seemed… alluring almost. He'd never taken the time to actually look at a girl's lips before, but now that he did, he found himself drawn to them and fascinated by them, as if by some unknown internal force. He slowly closed the gap, and just before their lips touched, closed his eyes.

They were the softest things he'd ever felt, Naruto thought. And while strange, and foreign, and terrifying, it was one of the most pleasant experiences of his life so far. Naruto wasn't sure how long they stood there, lips touching, but after a time the magic seemed to pass, and they pulled back to look into each other's eyes once more. He didn't know why, but he felt something pulling at his chest now that he hadn't before. As if leaving Hinata was going to cause him pain.

And as soon as the thought passed through his mind, he knew it was true. Here was one of the only people to ever care for him, and he was leaving. _I sure hope I know what I'm doing._

"When I get back…" Naruto started slowly and breathlessly, "would you like to go on a date with me?" Hinata couldn't find her voice and so simply nodded. Naruto looked up at the sky, for he felt like if he didn't look away from her eyes soon he may never be able to do so again. "I better get going."

"Good bye, Naruto-kun." He looked back at her and smiled. Warmly… Genuinely…

"Good bye, Hinata-chan." And without another word, Naruto turned and ran out the front gates, into the forest, until Hinata couldn't see him anymore. He was gone.

**Author's Note:** Many of you probably are familiar with my continuation of _Twice Shy_. I started on this fic because I needed a second outlet. A place to be creative on something else. (I actually have a Harry Potter fic for the same purpose, though it isn't published.)

I'm not quite certain how long this fic will be. As opposed to _Twice Shy_, which I have planned out to the last page, this is a much more free-flowing fic. I have a general outline for the first few chapters, and a general direction I would like to go. I have ideas, and I have things I know I want to include. But the story isn't completely written, because that isn't this story's purpose.

I hope you enjoy this. It's an idea for a Naruto fic I've had for quite some time. In case you are curious, the idea of a "Walkabout" is an Australian Aborigine tradition, very similar to how I described it here. You can check it out on Wikipedia if you like, although the article on it is pretty short.

Anyways, since this is a more free flowing story, reviews are MUCH more helpful with this story to let me know if I'm going to a good or bad direction. So hit the review button and tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"_Things do not change; we change."  
_–Henry David Thoreau

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Naruto woke up and stretched. Sleeping on the ground was always just a little uncomfortable. He yawned as he looked up at the canopy. It was a brand new day, and he needed some breakfast. Looking around his makeshift campsite, which was little more than a couple of burnt twigs from last night's "fire" and his sleeping bag covered in morning dew, he spotted a berry bush that looked promising.

_Are these some of the poisonous ones?_ Naruto thought to himself, hesitating as he reached an arm out. They looked like a delicious shade of red. _Well… if they are poisonous, the damn fox will take care of it._ Reached out and picked a few, popping them into his mouth one by one. _A little bit sour._

He looked around for a moment, feeling a momentary rush. This Walkabout was a good idea so far, he supposed. It had only been one night, but he felt a freedom that he'd never felt before, as if there was no burden for him to carry. And there wasn't.

"I've never thought about things this much," Naruto said to himself out loud. He walked over to his sleeping bag and began to pack it. "I guess being out alone forces you to think." And as his mind drifted back to the looks of hatred the villagers gave him, he thought that perhaps that wasn't always a good thing.

"Now, where should I go?" Naruto said to himself. He was talking mostly because he hadn't heard a voice, even his own, since yesterday before he left, and if he were honest he'd say he was beginning to feel real loneliness. But at this point, being honest with himself was a bit too much to ask.

"Hmmm…"

_I want to go see places I've never been before,_ he thought, rubbing his chin. _I know! I'll go see all the nations that border the Fire country! I've only ever been to the Wave._ He paused for a moment. Yes, that sounded perfect.

And without a further thought, he started off towards the west. River country would be first.

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Hinata stepped slowly. Before, she would walk slowly because she didn't have the confidence to step strongly, but for some reason, that wasn't the case anymore. Now she stepped slowly because she was thinking.

The village seemed so different to her. The people in it, the people she knew, all seemed different. How could every single one of them know, and not see what she saw?

She was making her way to the meeting with Sasuke since he'd been released by the hospital early this morning. The only reason he'd been kept so long was because of the seal, but they'd done all they could for that, and there had been no point in keeping him longer while people more gravely injured were still quite numerous.

"Hinata-sama." She turned and saw Neji approaching, and of all the expressions he could have worn, she saw a smile on his lips. "Do you mind if I walk with you?"

Hinata wasn't sure if he was trying to catch her off guard, but she was a truly kind soul, and wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"No, I'd like that," she said, returning his smile. They walked for a few moments in silence before Neji spoke again.

"Have you seen Uzumaki-san?" Hinata looked at him, her eyes searching for his purpose.

"Not since yesterday," she answered truthfully. Neji nodded.

"I wanted to apologize to him, and to you." Hinata's eyes grew wide in shock.

"For what?"

"Uzumaki-san made me realize something… something about myself." He looked up at the sky. "He told me several times that we each controlled our own destiny. That we choose our place in life. Before our match I disagreed… how had what happened to my father been anything but a horrible example of destiny?"

HInata was silent. She'd never heard Neji talk about Hizashi before.

"But I talked with Hiashi-sama after the match. It seems Naruto was right after all." She looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?" She knew the basics of how Hizashi had died, but had never asked about the specifics.

"My father took Hiashi-sama's place because he chose to." Hinata was surprised. All this time she thought, like Neji, that it had been a horrible, forced act.

"Why?"

"He didn't do it to save Hiashi-sama, he did it for the clan. Your father said that he insisted on taking your father's place not because he wanted to be kind to Hiashi-sama, but because he cared about the clan and the people in it. He cared about his family… and he wanted to do it for them."

Hinata was again silent. It didn't seem like her place to comment on such an act.

"It seems that Uzumaki-san was right. We all choose our own destiny. Even now, his destiny is to wallow in his misfortune of being the Kyuubi's vessel, and yet he chooses not to. His destiny says that he should hate people for his misfortune, but instead he fights for them. Anyone who listens to him could understand that."

Tears formed in the corners of Hinata's eyes. Neji understood.

"But few listen to him. I did not. I dismissed him as naïve and childish, and I dismissed his dreams as foolish." They walked in silence for a few moments, as Neji seemed to mull over his own words. "He has taught me something important, though I somehow doubt he meant to, and for that I owe him a debt. He has made me a better ninja."

Hinata felt a calm in knowing that Neji had found some peace. Her capacity to care was too large for her to feel nothing for his plight.

"I wanted to apologize to you as well," Neji continued. Hinata again listened silently. "Not for what I did, because a ninja never apologizes for doing what he must. We both entered the exam knowing that something like that could happen. I wanted to apologize for the reasons I did it.

"I do not agree with the way the main branch treats us, but that is not your fault. I see that now." Hinata nodded.

"It's nothing, Neji." He glanced sideways at her.

"You seem different as well." Hinata blushed. She felt different.

"Yes… I feel… Confident." Neji smiled.

"We all are changing for the better then." Hinata looked ahead and saw Sasuke and some of the Konoha Genin waiting.

"Not _all_ of us." Neji looked ahead and nodded knowingly.

They walked up to the group in silence. It was only minutes before the rest of the Konoha Genin were gathered, and Sasuke began talking.

"So you all know why we're here." Everyone nodded, so Sasuke continued. "Something needs to be done about Naruto."

Nobody said anything. In many ways, it was a dance. No one would be willing to say anything unless they were willing to be responsible for it. Sasuke looked around, a bit put out that no one seemed to be that enthused.

"Well? We've had a demon living with us all this time and no one has anything to add?" Sasuke asked. Neji shook his head.

"Don't you think if something needed to be done the Jounin would have already done it?" A few heads around the group nodded in agreement.

"He was being protected by the Third," Sasuke said simply.

"And you know better than the Third?" Neji looked at Sasuke seriously.

"That's not what I said," Sasuke responded hotly. "We've all been around Naruto more than anyone, and no one cared to tell us. That doesn't sound like reasonable judgment." Sasuke looked off thoughtfully. "Besides, it was a member of the council that told me." That raised a few eyebrows.

"Who?" Hinata asked. Her father was on the council as well, and she needed to know if it had been him.

"An older man… bandaged over the right eye." Shikamaru scoffed.

"Danzo…" Everyone looked at him. "Troublesome…" Sasuke looked at the Genin quickly.

"Look, we need to figure out what to do."

"It doesn't matter," Shino said. "He's not in the village anymore." Everyone turned to look at him. Hinata was surprised. She thought no one else had been there. She blushed at the thought.

"How do you know?" Kiba asked.

"The bug I placed on him returned to me. He was leaving the village." Everyone nodded.

"Where was he going?" Sakura asked, finally speaking.

"I don't know," Shino said simply. Sasuke smiled.

"No, this is a good thing. We were all in danger."

"How do you know?" Shikamaru asked. He was skeptical of such a tactical decision with only the information he had. Naruto had never seemed dangerous. At least, not to his friends.

"During our trip to the Wave, Naruto lost control," Sasuke began. He looked over at Sakura. "I was unconscious, but Sakura here knows about it. Naruto went berserk and completely crushed a high Chunin level ninja." Everyone looked at Sakura, as if to confirm.

"Well…" she said, unsure. She wanted to please Sasuke, but she didn't want to betray Naruto. He was like an annoying brother to her. "He got very upset, but he was only attacking enemies. I don't know if he would have attacked anyone else." Everyone looked back at Sasuke, who scowled at Sakura.

"He did it again in the Forest of Death," Sasuke added. "When Orochimaru gave me the Curse Seal. He fought Orochimaru toe-to-toe for a few moments."

"But it sounds like he was protecting people he knew again," Shikamaru pointed out.

"Yeah, but do you want to take that chance?" Kiba interjected. "Sure it seems like he's got good intentions, but who knows if he can really control himself? What if he'd lost it during the fight with me? I was his 'enemy' at the time." Kiba looked shaken at the thought.

"He used the Kyuubi's chakra in his fight against me," Neji said simply. "I am fine."

"This time," Sasuke said. There were a few moments of silence… it was a lot to take in.

"None of you know him," Hinata said, speaking confidently. "None of you know who he is or what he's like." Everyone was a bit startled at the outburst, even Neji. Hinata was acting extremely forward, and she never did that.

"Tch, what do you know?" Sasuke said mockingly. "You're blinded by the way you hang on his every word." Sasuke expected something similar to the other day, when she'd broken down. Instead, her face hardened.

"I know a damn lot more than you!" She glared at the Uchiha. "Who fought against the _actual_ demon that Gaara summoned? Who always tries to help people instead of make them feel useless? Who actually cares about what other people have to say and think? Who is always trying to become a better ninja because he wants to protect his village?" Everyone was quiet. No one had ever heard her talk like this, not even Neji. Even Sasuke was startled at her reaction. "I'll tell _you_, Uchiha, that answer isn't you."

Sasuke's face contorted in anger.

"You can't understand what it's like to be the only one left from your clan!" Sasuke shouted. "What do you know about me, little miss Hyuuga princess?" Hinata was fuming, but it was Neji's eyes that flashed dangerously.

"Be careful with your words, Uchiha." Sasuke glanced at Neji. He certainly didn't want to make the Hyuuga prodigy an enemy.

"You're turning your back on a team mate," Hinata said. She began to walk off. "And for that," she said, stopping and turning back. "You're lower than dirt." She left, not caring what anyone else had to say. She wasn't going to legitimize that witch hunt by being present.

Everyone was quiet for a few moments, and Neji curtly nodded his head before following Hinata. Sasuke, for his part, looked like he was brooding, and a few moments later he began to leave, also without a word to anyone else.

Ino bounded off after Sasuke, and Sakura watched the Hyuugas depart before following Ino. Everyone else stood, as if frozen.

"Troublesome."

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

Jiraiya sat cross-legged in the window. He was furious.

"I've called this meeting of the council to discuss the actions of Uzumaki Naruto, and discuss the problem about deciding on a new Hokage," Danzo began. Jiraiya scoffed.

"I was sure this meeting would be about your crimes," Jiraiya said evenly. Danzo looked at the Sannin, annoyed.

"I was not aware of any crimes." Jiraiya rolled his eyes.

"I suppose you were forced to violate the Third's law and tell Naruto's team mates about the Kyuubi." That caused a few murmurs.

"Is this true?" Hiashi asked. Danzo didn't take his eyes off of the Toad Sage.

"Yes," he said simply.

"You are aware that the law carries a penalty of death," Tsume said tersely.

"That is unimportant. The Third is gone, and with him the need for that law." The uproar was immediate.

"Never in the history of Konoha has a decree been repealed simply because a Hokage passed!" one of the ninja council members said.

"After all that boy did for this village during the invasion, you choose _now_ to do something like this Danzo?"

"Who are you to decide unilaterally for the council which laws to repeal?" Hiashi asked angrily. Danzo had forgotten his place it seemed. "We all know you lust after the position of Hokage. Surely after such a stunt you know we'll never agree to that." Danzo looked at Hiashi venomously.

"We can discuss this later, we need to address the matters which we came here to address."

"Fine," Tsume said briskly. "Jiraiya-sama, would you accept such an honor?" Everyone turned to look at the silver-haired ninja. The look of pure venom that Danzo gave him was almost enough to make him accept.

"I can't," Jiraiya said. "It would limit what I can do for Konoha too much. I need to be out there to give us the best information possible." Everyone nodded. It was true.

"But who else could it be?" Shikaku asked, more to himself than anyone.

"There is always the other," Hiashi said. "Could she possibly accept?" Jiraiya shook his head.

"I don't think there's any way she will."

"Can you try?" Koharu asked. Jiraiya sighed.

"I suppose…" Everyone looked at him hopefully. "I will do my best." A moment of silence fell over the council. "And the other matter?"

"Yes," Danzo said sourly. "It seems Uzumaki Naruto has left the village without a mission. My sources say that he was seen heading west, but they were not instructed to follow." This also caused a few murmurs on the council.

"What exactly is the point of bringing this up," Tsume asked. "Surely this is a matter for his Jounin instructor."

"I believe that's Kakashi," Shikaku said nodding. There seemed to be silent agreement among most of the members.

"Yes, well…" Danzo seemed to measure his words. "Given his… particular circumstances, and the situation, I think we should declare him a missing nin." This motion was not met with murmurs, but instead utter silence. After a few moments Jiraiya spoke.

"I don't think that's a reasonable response to the situation," he said. "Given what Naruto believes to be true, and the situation here in the village, one can hardly blame him for wanting some time away."

"Yes," Danzo said carefully. "That is so. However, as a Hidden Village we cannot let our ninja wander off simply because they want to. I'm sure everyone here can agree with that no matter what they feel about… recent events." Slowly the members of the council began to nod.

"It would be dangerous, then," Danzo continued, "to set a precedent by not declaring him a missing nin."

"So we put him in the bingo book," Jiraiya said, frowning. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Of course not," Danzo replied smoothly. "That would be an overreaction. I am simply proposing that we declare him a missing nin within the village until we know what his purpose and goals are. If he becomes dangerous we can put him in the bingo book then." Given the posturing, there was little that anyone on the council could do to oppose such a proposal.

"It doesn't seem right," Tsume said bitterly. "It doesn't seem like what the Third would do." Everyone was quiet.

"Or the Fourth," Hiashi added. Danzo nodded.

"While I understand the sympathy, what Naruto has done is very nearly the _definition_ of a missing nin. While we certainly don't want to go out of our way to harm the child, we cannot treat him more leniently than any other ninja." No one agreed, but all the same, no one objected either.

"Then," Danzo said, "Let's agree to list him as an A-Rank missing nin." Shikaku raised an eyebrow.

"A-Rank?" Danzo gave a rueful smile.

"He did defeat Sabaku no Gaara, did he not?" And no matter what anyone on the council thought, _that_ was certainly a point to ponder.

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

"Uhhhhg…" Naruto grabbed his stomach, wincing. He shouldn't have had the berries. He had been travelling all day, and just as the day was beginning to turn to evening, he came upon a medium sized town, nestled in a crater.

"Wow," Naruto said out loud, looking around as he walked. He noticed many odd stares, and at first he assumed they were because of the fox. But before long he realized that no one in this village should know him on sight. He quickly figured out that it was his bright orange clothing.

_If I'm going to do this Walkabout, I should probably wear something different._ He walked around, looking for a clothing shop. Wearing orange on this trip would be a problem… why had he started wearing orange anyway? _People in Konoha used to refuse to acknowledge me, so I wore orange to stand out, so that they couldn't ignore me… But that's the opposite of what I want now._ It made sense to him.

_Actually, wearing orange probably made them think more of the fox,_ Naruto thought with a smile.

He walked into a dimly lit shop.

"Irrasshaimase!" the shop keep called out, smiling. He didn't know who this kid was, but anyone with a Leaf Hitai-ate paid well. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Just looking for something plain," Naruto said. The store owner walked out from behind the counter and began rustling through several racks of clothes.

"Probably about an 8 or 9," he said to himself. "Are you looking for any specific fits or color?" Naruto shook his head.

"I guess… something with long sleeves that will be tough in the wilderness." The man shuffled around, picking out several different outfits.

"Hopefully one of these will be to your liking," he said, handing the outfits to Naruto with a smile. Naruto took them back to the small changing room, closing the curtain behind him. Before he tried any on, he looked at the prices, and cringed.

_Should have taken just a bit more with me I guess._

He saw only one outfit that he had enough to buy, and that was only just barely. Thankfully, it did meet all of his requirements. The material seemed pretty strong, and the top had long sleeves. It was black, with a deep blue trim around the sleeves and neck, it zipped up the front, and it had a small, black, detachable hood on the collar. It would help in rain but would be useless for ninja purposes.

The pants were plain in their cut, fitting a bit more snugly than the pants he wore now, but with room to move around in. They were made with the same fabric, and were also black with deep blue trim.

_It'll have to do,_ he thought to himself, putting his orange clothes in his backpack. He looked at himself in the mirror, his eyes resting on the Leaf insignia. He frowned.

It didn't seem right. He wasn't acting like a Leaf ninja, and that forehead protector really meant something to him. He had left, without orders, and without telling anyone. Actually, he realized a bit nervously, that pretty much made him a missing nin.

_Ojii-san wouldn't have been proud of me doing this as a leaf ninja,_ Naruto thought. The Third would have surely lectured him about it. He slowly reached up, untying the forehead protector. He held it in his hands for a few moments, staring at it. _At least until I return, I won't wear it. It wouldn't be right._ He thought about all the proud leaf ninja that had just died protecting Konoha only weeks ago. _It wouldn't be fair to them._

Naruto slowly put the Hitai-ate into his backpack, pausing. He would remember this day for the rest of his life, he realized. And without dwelling on it any further, he left the dressing room, paid the store owner, and walked out into the street, looking for a place to stay. In his mind, his Walkabout had only now just begun.

**Pronunciation Guide: **_Irrasshaimase! (ee-RAH-SHAI-mah-say)_: Literally it has several meanings having to do with the (polite) coming or going of someone. In practice, it's a polite greeting shop keepers often greet customers with, meaning something along the lines of "welcome to the place you've come (polite)". Just think of it as "welcome".

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all the reviews. I'd like to say upfront that the original concept for this story is based on a Digimon fanfic which was written by an author named "Silver" in the year 2000. Yes, that's right, 9 years ago. That's probably more than half your life for a lot of you, but I wanted to give credit where credit was due.

Nothing but the idea of sending a main character on a traditional Aborigine "Walkabout" is the same of course. It was nothing but a concept. If you want to read it, it is the very last story on my favorites.

I got this chapter out quickly because I felt like in many ways the first and second chapter were really one chapter split into two pieces. They both have natural ending points, but it's not really fair to leave them split apart.

Like I said before, I don't know how long this fic will be. I guess that'll depend more on what it is people like about this fic… (And yes, I have started on the next chapter of _Twice Shy_. I put a lot more effort into that story… it takes much longer to write, as well as taking much more energy.)

As an aside, I'd like to dedicate this story, the entire story, to a dear friend of mine: Tony Touch. He died in a motorcycle accident at the far too young age of 23 on July 14th, and this past Sunday I went to his funeral. I don't think I can describe what it's like to bury someone you really know… I'm sure some of you do know, but at the same time… I can't help but feel that being in our 20s it's different than if we'd been in our teens…

Anyway, he will be missed. I won't lie… I cried.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"_Life is just a mirror, and what you see out there, you must first see inside of you."_  
–Wally Amos

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

Naruto settled into his sleeping bag next to his small, functional campfire. He had some muscles he'd dug up from a nearby river in the single cooking pan he'd brought with him. He'd tried catching some fish at first, but the patience it had required was a bit too much, and he'd ended up just wading into the silt to pull out the unsuspecting morsels.

Naruto had never actually had muscles, so he wasn't sure what to do with them, but he'd supposed that cooking them was a good idea, and had thrown in some familiar smelling plants he'd found around the campsite.

He glanced back towards the direction of the town. Maybe he should have brought money instead of heeding the scroll. _Speaking of the scroll,_ Naruto thought to himself, _where did it go?_ With an eye on the pan, Naruto began digging through his backpack, and found the scroll he was searching for near the bottom.

_Hmmm… I didn't take the time to read any more of it. I wonder what else it says._ Naruto unrolled it and began reading where he'd left off.

_A Walkabout often, though not always, involves a connection with nature, and while not strictly a form of survival training, a Walkabout often requires certain survival skills, as by definition the person on it is venturing into areas which they don't know without a definite means to support themselves._

Naruto looked over at the pan, and set the scroll down. He picked up a kunai he'd been using and turned the muscles over. How would he know when they were done? Naruto shrugged and went back to his scroll.

_Not everyone goes on a Walkabout, and a Walkabout doesn't necessarily involve avoiding people or civilization. Rather, the main point of a Walkabout is to force oneself to have time alone in which you can think about things without distraction. Usually the things that occupy one's mind on a Walkabout are more profound topics which people rarely slow down to consider during their day-to-day life._

Naruto set the scroll down again. He didn't care if the muscles were done… they smelled really good and he was really hungry. The blond picked the pan off the fire and held it out for a moment until the meat stopped sizzling. He held the pan in his left hand and picked up his kunai with the right, skewering one of the muscles, bringing it up towards his mouth.

He took in a deep breath, the scent heavenly to him given how hungry he was at the moment. He blew on it a few times to cool it off before popping it into his mouth. A bit plain, but under the circumstances it tasted like a masterpiece. He greedily stuffed the entire meal into his mouth in quick order, much more content now that he'd eaten.

_Profound, huh?_ Naruto thought, laying back in his sleeping bag and looking up at the cloudless sky. _Thinking's not really my strong suit._ He grinned. _Although I guess I've been thinking a lot more than usual since I left._ He looked up at the stars quietly, as a meteor streaked across the sky.

_They probably don't all hate me,_ Naruto thought hesitantly. He wondered for a moment how much of that thought was simply hope. _Well, at the very least I know Hinata-chan doesn't. _Naruto's features softened slightly. _Hinata…_

_She said the word love… _Naruto felt at odd feeling inside him at the thought. _The way she said it… So much feeling… _

Naruto was confused by both her and himself. The way she'd said it… no one had ever said anything to him like that. It was like she'd been panicked that he was leaving… Naruto didn't have a very good grasp on love, he knew that much. People around him seemed to talk about love like it was something so obviously special, yet he felt the same need to protect all the people important to him. It wasn't that he liked any of them less, it was just…

Naruto frowned. What made love so special? He'd heard people before talk about love as being this feeling in your heart, warm and comforting, but… Naruto didn't think he felt that way very much, and the times he did it was a thing like someone smiling at him. The way Hinata had said it he knew that something was different about the way that she felt about him, but what? How could he understand that?

He couldn't, Naruto finally decided. The Third had told him once that it's difficult for people to understand love if they've never had someone love them, and Naruto was pretty sure no one had ever loved him. There was no way he could know what it was like, but it seemed like something most people wanted so he'd give it a try.

Naruto sighed. What did everyone else think about him? There was no way for him to know since he'd left without talking to them, but it didn't stop him from thinking about it. In fact, Naruto found that it was a thought that always seemed to be in the back of his mind. Did they hate him? Did they understand?

He scrunched up his face in concentration. _This not knowing is killing me! _He could hear the frogs croaking in the night and a few crickets chirping around him as the fire was starting to die down left unattended. _Shikamaru's good at thinking… what would he do?_ _He'd try and understand what they're thinking… I think._ Naruto heaved a heavy sigh.

_Let's see if I can do this…_ Naruto focused hard in concentration. _If I was Sakura, and I had a team mate that I thought was… dumber than me, and I suddenly found out he had a demon in him how would I feel? _Naruto concentrated even harder, as if trying to will himself into epiphany. He gave a frustrated growl. _I'm no good at thinking! I prefer just attacking head on, but I can't attack this head on without being in Konoha…_ Naruto stopped for a moment and realized what he'd just thought. _Hmmm… This Walkabout is forcing me to do something I'm not good at. It's almost like training!_

Naruto drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face. Somehow knowing that he was just "training" himself to think was more comforting than believing he was being forced to do something he found frustrating. Even if they were exactly the same thing.

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

Jiraiya moved swiftly through the branches, the night air whistling past his long, white hair. He had received a message from one of his agents about a possible location for Tsunade in Crater City, to the south-west of Konoha. But his thoughts were not on Tsunade. Or rather, not entirely on Tsunade.

_Naruto, where did you go?_ Jiraiya jumped through the trees effortlessly. _But more importantly… why?_ It was something that had been bothering him ever since Naruto left. It was easy to understand what had motivated Naruto to leave, but what had given him the idea? In the short time he'd known the kid he'd heard nothing but how much he wanted to protect Konoha. It didn't sound like the kind of kid that would see leaving as an option.

_I'll have to find Tsunade quickly if I'm going to find Naruto before ROOT does._ Jiraiya sighed. _Tsunade will be difficult… I don't think she'll come back but… I promised that I would try._ Jiraiya smiled. _It's what the Third would want._

Jiraiya dodged an oddly placed branch with ease, continuing on as if nothing had been in his way. His face shifted into a frown.

_What's Danzo's play? What's his game? He never does anything without a purpose or goal… the man is shrewd no matter his undesirable qualities. _It bothered Jiraiya quite a bit, because without knowing Danzo's goals it was difficult to predict his moves. _What does he gain by telling Sasuke about the Kyuubi? It might be Naruto, but it could just as easily be something Danzo has planned for Sasuke._

Jiraiya looked up at the sky and saw a small meteor glint through the air. He'd be there within two days.

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

Sasuke's eyes drifted up towards the distant Hokage monument as the sun rose behind it. He was out in his training field early today, and there was a lot on his mind, but for the first time in a long time Itachi wasn't the _first_ thing he thought about while training.

_Gaara dealt with me like I was a child, _Sasuke thought, looking around the clearing. _He wasn't even concerned… it was like I was a fly to him. _The thought made Sasuke grit his teeth in annoyance. The most frustrating part about that thought was that Gaara was a mere fraction of Itachi. If Gaara had merely brushed him aside like that… Sasuke shook his head.

_Yet, for how easy it was for him to brush me aside, Naruto beat him._ Sasuke's face again flushed in anger. _And the worst part is that he didn't even do it by destroying him._

Sasuke clenched his teeth. The demon inside him was what made Naruto so special, Sasuke was sure of it. And yet, every time Naruto did something impossible it seemed that he did it in a way no one expected. It was… frustrating. How was he supposed to figure out the Kyuubi if it kept playing games? Just like a fox…

_Naruto…_ Sasuke thought, falling into one of the Uchiha sets. _I've got to become strong enough to beat you… beat the demon inside of you._ He threw a flurry of punches, wincing in pain as his body protested. The seal on his neck seemed to cause harm to his body through use. He'd have to save it for when he was getting closer to his goal.

_Naruto is a danger to the village. _Sasuke thought idly. For a moment, as he performed a precise flipping movement, he pondered why that even mattered to him. His goals had nothing to do with Konoha… Konoha was a means to power. _But I won't let there be any more Itachi's._

That's what it was, Sasuke realized. Naruto could do what his brother did. Naruto could cause that destruction and dismay. In the little blond Sasuke saw a mirror of his past and his motivation. There was a small part of Sasuke that feared what admitting that meant, and so in his mind, Sasuke never really admitted it. He pretended that it was simply the principal of the thing… that Itachi was one kind of thing, and Sasuke was now the anti-whatever-that-thing-was. That stopping Naruto was an act of nature and not choice.

But a part of him knew. Unlike Danzo's emotionless drones, Sasuke had not been able to completely suppress his humanity, and buried deep within him a part knew that he was scared. Scared that Naruto would be able to cause the same kind of pain to him that Itachi had. It had been the reason that Sasuke had kept so far away from everyone. If you don't form attachments, then no one can take them from you. But as Sasuke angrily punched the still morning air, small bead of sweat flying off his skin, he was infuriated by a single thought: Naruto was the only one who had managed to breach that wall. He knew that in some way, Naruto had become an attachment for him, and a small part of him was scared. If Naruto was like Itachi, then having an attachment with him was… dangerous.

_No,_ Sasuke thought, finishing his form. _There will be no more Itachi's. I will destroy them all._

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

Naruto got up and stretched. For some reason it seemed like sleeping on the ground was hurting more now than it had on their mission to the Wave. He rolled his shoulder around to loosen it up. He considered his sleeping bag for a moment. They had been using tents when they'd gone to the wave, and since the three Genin had shared a single tent, they'd been able to bring a very thin roll-out mat to sleep on. At the time he'd thought that nothing that thin could make any difference in how the ground felt, and indeed he'd complained quite loudly to Kakashi at the time about how hard the ground was.

As he got a kink out of his neck he decided that he'd been a bit stupid. That had been quite a bit more comfortable that sleeping on uneven ground in just a sleeping bag like he was now. For a moment he even considered that it could be worse if he didn't even have a sleeping bag. He supposed that knowing he _could_ be at home in his nice, soft bed made it worse. But he quickly shook the thought from his head, looking up at the orange sky that was slowly getting brighter.

Naruto took in a deep breath, a smile filling his features. He loved the way the morning air smelled. It felt like it was full of energy and possibility, and the early morning always seemed to have the best smells.

If Iruka had been there he'd have told Naruto that this was because the air ionized during the night, and the reaction of sunlight on the ionized air actually _made_ the air more full of energy. It was why many people preferred to exercise in the morning, when they could breathe in the ions and absorb some of the energy themselves. But Iruka was _not_ there, and Naruto remained blissfully ignorant and he stowed his things, heading back into the city in the crater.

Unlike the previous night, Naruto's mind was thankfully blank throughout his trip to the city, and he was able to simply walk in peace, listening to the sounds of the early morning around him. A thought occurred to him that he'd never really listened to the morning birds, since anytime he'd been out early in the morning it had always been to train. A particularly melodic chirp reached his ear and he smiled. Maybe acting so hastily, like he always did, wasn't always such a good thing.

He strolled into the outskirts of the town in a great mood, interested in seeing more of the city. He'd been able to see a small part of it the day before, but the city intrigued him. The only place he'd ever been without any real significant ninja presence had been Tazuna's small town, and that had been on a mission with an injured team and the threat of death.

But as he walked by the many storefronts, most just opening, he found a certain solace in the fact that there was a different kind of life out there. It didn't really appeal to him, and he'd never give up being a ninja, not even if everyone hated him, but it was a little comforting that it seemed there was something worth having for those that couldn't be ninja.

Life seemed so simple.

"Would you like to by a handkerchief mister?" Naruto looked to his left and saw a very young boy and girl. The boy looked like he was about five, with a bit of baby fat in his cheeks still. He had uneven, long brown hair, and blue eyes that Naruto thought looked similar to his. The girl looked about seven, and seemed a lot rougher than the boy, both in appearance and in health. Her skin looked worn, and her eyes looked… unhappy.

They both were wearing dirty clothes, though the clothes didn't appear particularly worn. It was obvious however that neither was eating enough, as both were extremely thin, excepting for the small baby fat in the boys cheeks.

"Are you two brother and sister?" Naruto asked. The boy nodded vigorously before the girl jerked his hand.

"Please sir," she said in a sweet voice that didn't match her appearance. "We're just trying to sell handkerchiefs." Naruto frowned. They had to be homeless. Were they orphans? Naruto glanced around, seeing if any of the adults were looking their way, but he let out a frustrated growl when he noticed how all of the adult's eyes seemed to skip over the pair as if they weren't there.

It was something he had noticed about orphans, or really more street-people, when he'd been younger. Most people just pretended they didn't exist. It was degrading and humiliating… dehumanizing. Naruto looked down. More than being called a demon, it was the most dehumanizing thing that people did. He gladly stepped into the ridiculous orange suit just to make sure they saw him.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said hoarsely, still a little lost in his thoughts. "I don't have any money with me." It was true; he'd left the very little money he had left with his sleeping bag back at the campsite. He felt terrible, but by the time he looked up again the two children were already wearily moving on to the next possible patron.

Naruto froze for a moment, considering if he should do anything, but with a painfully resigned sigh, decided to simply continue on. He was down for the rest of the morning, but by the afternoon his attention had been grabbed by a small fair near the west end of the crater.

He wandered through the jostling crowd, eyes wide, as he took in the sights, sounds and smells. The smells were particularly enticing, and Naruto was soon regretting again that he'd left so much of his savings at home. He found himself standing in a small gap in the crowd, trying to figure out a way to get some food when a tall, beautiful looking blond woman walked up to him as if she knew him.

"There you are Shinji; I've been looking all over for you!" Naruto looked up at the woman, who had an odd diamond mark on her forehead, and tried to correct her.

"Look lady, I don't kn—" Naruto was cut off as her hand came over his mouth. The woman's voice dropped.

"Look kid," she whispered harshly, "play along and I'll give you some Ryu, okay?" Naruto stared at her for a moment before nodding. "I told you to stay close," she said much louder. "But you never listen to your mother." Naruto's eyes widened in shock for a moment before he sputtered a reply.

"I—I'm sorry… mom…" The woman grabbed his hand and smiled warmly at him before starting to walk into the crowd.

"Jeez kid," he heard quietly from his side. "Would it kill you to smile? Play the part!" Naruto hesitated for a moment before easily acting. It was, after all, something he did often.

"C'mon mom!" he said harshly. "I'm hungry!" The woman winced, before nodding her ascension. As they walked towards the food court area, Naruto noticed her eyes following a small group of men. They looked like routine thugs, the sort of bandits that got hired by small time criminal bosses.

After a few minutes, Naruto say down at one of the tables with a tasty smelling rolled meat dish in front of him. The woman watched as the thugs left, apparently deciding that whatever they were looking for wasn't there.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked, taking a bite. The spices used were the same as many dishes he'd had, it just had a bread-like wrap around it. It was pretty good.

"It doesn't concern you," the woman said tersely. "They were looking for a woman without a kid, that's all that mattered." Naruto eyed her suspiciously.

"They were looking for a ninja," he said confidently. She looked over at him, apparent amusement on her face.

"How are you so sure of that?" the woman asked. She didn't seem to rely be denying it… she seemed more curious. Naruto shrugged.

"It's the way they always came looking before," Naruto said, taking another bite. He hadn't realized how hungry he was. The muscles last night hadn't exactly filled him up, and he hadn't had anything since. The blond woman got a weird glint in her eye, as if seeing him completely differently.

"You look like someone I knew," she said cryptically. Naruto looked at her and shrugged. "You're a ninja, aren't you. A Leaf nin." Naruto tensed instantly. It wasn't a big leap for someone to say he was a ninja, but the only reason for someone to say he was a Leaf nin with confidence is if they knew about the fox.

"What if I am?" he said defiantly. He took his last bite, glaring at the woman. She simply smiled, as if his response made her… happy?

"Doesn't matter to me kid, I'm not from the Leaf." Naruto eyed her suspiciously. She was from the Leaf, he was sure of that much. No one would have made that jump if they'd been from another country.

"Yes you are." The woman looked at him annoyed.

"Not any more." They stared at each other for a minute before Naruto put out his hand.

"You owe me some Ryu." The woman scoffed in what he thought was annoyance, but the hint of a smile crossed her face and she reached into a pocket and produced a few notes.

"Tell me kid, what's a Leaf nin like you doing all the way out here without your forehead protector." She seemed to measure him with her gaze. "Were you banished?" Naruto slowly shook his head, being careful what he said.

"I left on my own." Naruto paused. "And you can't take me back." The blond woman chuckled, causing her bosom to bounce slightly. Naruto's lips pursed. It's a good thing Ero-sennin wasn't here.

"Kid, I'd never go back to that awful place on my own power." Naruto looked up at her in shock.

"Hey, what do you mean awful?" Naruto said indignantly. "Konoha is a great place, with amazing people!" The woman looked at him humorlessly.

"If that's the case then why are you way out here, not even proud enough to wear your village symbol?" Naruto slumped at the accusation. He cared about Konoha, he really did… he just _had_ to do this.

"Konoha is important to me," Naruto finally said. "It's my dream to be Hokage one day, and I'll do whatever it takes to make that dream a reality, even if that means leaving everyone behind for a while." He glanced back at the woman's face and saw an expression of clear surprise on her face. It almost seemed like she was looking past him instead of at him.

"Really?" she said, seeming to collect herself. "That's a stupid dream." Naruto growled.

"What do you know about being Hokage?" Naruto shouted at her, drawing a few stares. He calmed himself a bit before continuing. He didn't want to make a scene. "You just got through telling me that you'd never go back to Konoha, and you're lecturing me about being Hokage?" He clenched his teeth. "Why would you even care about that? Being Hokage means protecting those that you love, and always fighting for those that can't! How could that be a stupid dream?"

"Because it's gonna kill you kid!" She was visibly angry now. "Being Hokage isn't worth it! All you'll do is die!" Naruto shook his head.

"Sometimes the Hokage gives his life because he has to," Naruto said, remembering what Kakashi had told him about the Third's sacrifice. "But he never throws it away. The Fourth… protected the village from something terrible." Naruto stopped to collect himself. He hated talking about the fox with people who clearly knew something about it. "And the Third died fighting that snake-bastard so that all his precious people would survive. Is that stupid?"

He looked at the woman and saw a completely different look on her face. It was shock. Had what he'd said been so groundbreaking?

"The… The old man's dead?" the woman whispered, as if saying loudly would make it truer. Naruto was stunned for a moment, before realizing that not everyone in the Fire Country probably knew about his death yet. Still… this woman seemed like a ninja. Naruto slowly nodded. "Snake bastard…" She rounded on him, a completely different expression on her face. "The Third... who killed him brat. Tell me." Naruto was startled. It hadn't sounded like a request.

"O—Orochimaru… The snake-bastard…" The woman seemed to reel at the information, and fell back into her chair staring off into the distance. She stayed like that for a few moments before looking back at Naruto. He thought she looked less angry than before.

"And you want to be the Hokage one day, huh?" Naruto nodded. Hadn't they covered that pretty extensively? The woman looked above Naruto's eyes for a moment, as if glancing at his hair, before letting out a sigh. "Well… I'm probably going to regret this…"

The woman reached around her neck and lifted a necklace over her head that Naruto hadn't noticed before. It looked pretty simple, and had a small turquoise colored stone as a pendant. She held it in her hands for a moment, as if it was painful for her to hold it, before she slowly handed it to him

"Keep this kid. It's supposed to help someone become Hokage." Naruto scrunched up his face, confused.

"How does it do that?" The woman smiled, waving her hand dismissively.

"It's just an old legend." She waited for him to put it on, so he lifted it over his blond hair and looked down at his chest as it fell just below the blue trim of his collar. Well, at the very least, he thought, it did make him look more dignified.

"Thanks…" Naruto said, not quite sure what else to say.

"Don't mention it," the woman said. "But if you ever lose it…" she cracked a few of her knuckles and Naruto gulped. For some reason she seemed quite intimidating. "Now, I've got to go find Shizune. You stay safe, Naruto."

With that she turned and left, quickly disappearing into the crowd. Moments later, something clicked and Naruto looked down at the necklace before looking up at the faceless crowd again.

"I didn't tell her my name…" The thought was a little scary. He wandered around the town for the rest of the afternoon, consumed in his thoughts. Who had that woman been, and how had she known his name? His fingers ran over the necklace.

She might know his name the same way she recognized him as a Leaf nin, Naruto decided: the fox. Still… he'd met plenty of people before who knew about the Kyuubi but had no idea who he was. There were even plenty of villagers that had known his face but would never have known his name if he hadn't been… loud.

It was a troubling thought. For a ninja, being able to remain faceless was important, although Naruto had never bothered with that before. But no matter what he felt about sneaking around, he was very sure that it was dangerous for someone to know your name if you didn't know theirs… Unless you were so powerful it didn't matter. As much as he'd like to think so, Naruto knew that he wasn't _that_ powerful… probably not even with the fox's help. The snake-bastard had beaten him even with the fox's help in the forest. He sighed.

The sun was beginning to set, and thinking about the same things over and over wasn't going to help him. He now had Ryu to buy food with, thanks to that blond woman, and he set off to decide what to eat.

"What can we get for this much?" a familiar voice asked not too far away. Naruto looked around and quickly spotted the young girl and her brother from earlier. They were in front of a fruit stand and had an odd assortment of bills and coins laid out on the counter. The man glanced down and handed her three pieces of fruit before putting the money in his till. The look of pure happiness on the sibling's faces at the idea of food nearly made him cry.

It seemed, after finally crying again for the first time in years, some of the wounds from when he was younger were fresher in his mind. Being starving sucked.

"Hey," Naruto called out. The two children looked up, recognizing him from earlier today. "C'mon, I'll buy you a real dinner." The girl stared at him. He saw the expressions cross her face. First excitement at the prospect of food, then caution at the idea that someone would help them without asking for something. It was something he hadn't experienced in years.

"But…" It seemed that it took her a lot of effort to fight her hunger down. "You said you didn't have money earlier." Naruto cringed. He hadn't been lying.

"Yeah, but a nice woman gave me some earlier today," he told them, being somewhat liberal with the term 'nice woman'. "I thought I'd share." The boy looked up at his sister hopefully, and she looked at him before looking at the ground, not sure what to do.

"Okay," she finally said. "W—Where to?" Naruto shrugged.

"I don't think I'm as hungry as you guys, and I'm not from around here so I don't know the area. Why don't you pick?" The boy looked ecstatic, and the girl allowed herself an honest smile before nodding. The sky was just beginning to glow red, and Naruto thought it would still be at least two hours before the sun set. That meant they had plenty of time for a proper meal.

As they began to walk towards where most of the restaurants were, Naruto discretely counted the money the woman had given him. Forty-five hundred Ryu… He could get dinner for him and two children at a pretty nice place for that much. And if it really came down to it, he reasoned, he could get something small.

He didn't know why… he felt some kind of attachment to these kids. He hadn't even asked their names yet, he realized, and he didn't really feel like that mattered. In many ways it felt like he was buying himself a meal in the past.

"So what sounds good?" Naruto asked as they turned down the main street of the largest group of restaurants. The girl looked furtively at an upscale place before catching Naruto's eye and motioning towards a noodle shop. He looked at her first choice. Would he have enough? Yes… he just might have to order water. Naruto turned to the pair with a warm smile.

"How about this one?" he asked, pointing towards the place the girl had first scouted. She turned and looked at him anxiously.

"No, it's alright mister." The boy tugged at her clothes.

"Keiko, be quiet." Naruto smiled helpfully.

"Think of it as an apology for not buying one of your nice handkerchiefs." The girl smiled at him, obviously thankful for his generosity. The trio was all grins as they approached the door, until a man stopped them, looking seriously at Naruto.

"Hey," the man said gruffly, looking between the three. The two siblings immediately lowered their eyes. "They can't come in here." Naruto stared at the man, wondering if he was serious.

"Why not?"

"Dress code," the man said with a rotten smile. "Besides… they can't pay."

"I'm paying," Naruto said, beginning to get agitated. "Now let us in." The man shook his head.

"No way, even if you are buying, they can't come in looking like… that." Naruto was about to burst into protest when he suddenly caught himself.

"Yes, of course." Naruto said bowing. "Sorry to bother you." He ushered the confused kids around the nearby corner.

"I'm sorry mister," the girl began, tears forming in her eyes. Naruto put a finger to his lips before smiling again.

"Don't worry," Naruto said. "We're getting in there." The boy sniffed.

"But, the mean man said—"

"I don't care what that bastard said," Naruto told them, giving them a quick thumbs up. "I was never any good at genjutsu, but he's not a ninja so I don't think it will matter." The sibling's eyes got wide and Naruto saw a look something close to fear flutter across their face before they looked down again. Naruto frowned. They weren't afraid of him, were they? He shrugged.

Naruto looked around the corner, holding a Tiger seal as he channeled chakra into his genjutsu. It just had to be good enough fool him for a few moments.

"C'mon," Naruto said, pulling them out from behind the building. "Oh Sasuke!" He called out loudly motioning towards the young boy. "You get me every time with that one!" He turned to the doorman. "Three please."

The doorman looked up at the three visitors. Two young men dressed in elegant suits, and lovely woman with flowing black-blue hair. He smiled welcomingly at them.

"Right this way," he said, rushing them over to their seats. The two children looked at him wide eyed as the man retreated back towards the door.

"Are you an angel?" the girl asked him, catching him off guard. An angel?

"No," Naruto said, flashing his winning grin. "I'm a ninja." He lowered his voice into a whisper. "But don't tell anyone." The girl looked at him, almost disbelieving, and then, of all the things that she could have shown, she looked at him in disappointment.

"I've never seen a ninja do anything but kill," she mumbled. Naruto looked at her confused. "Mom and dad—" The boy interrupted her by tugging on her clothes again.

"Keiko, don't bother him. He's being nice." The girl nodded and looked down at the menu, although it didn't look to Naruto like she was actually reading it. He frowned. Ninja must have killed their parents… that would explain a lot. For a moment he wondered why, but there was no way to know. There might have not even been a reason.

"Well," Naruto started, feeling a need to impress upon a pair something important, "I'm a ninja to protect my precious people. I don't like hurting others… I just try to help the people close to me." The pair looked at him skeptically before looking at each other.

"He is buying us food," the boy whispered, probably louder than he thought he did Naruto realized.

"And he's being really nice," the girl whispered back.

"What if he tries to hurt us?" the boy asked.

"People hurt us every day," she whispered back flatly. "Let's eat." The boy nodded and the two looked at the menus before looking sheepishly back at Naruto.

"Ummm…" the girl began, getting a slight blush to cross her face. "We don't… know how to read." Naruto grinned at them, before looking slightly embarrassed himself.

"Actually… when I was your age I couldn't read either," Naruto admitted. He opened up his menu. Naruto ordered for the two, and noticing the prices he did end up having to skimp on dinner, but for some reason he didn't really feel too hungry. The longer the siblings were with him, and the more food they had, the more talkative they became, until they were telling him all about the adventures they used to have with the family dog just outside of town.

Before too long their meal was done, and the three left the restaurant together, smiles on their faces and food in their stomachs. The streets were becoming less crowded as the sun was just setting and people were heading home for the night.

"Can you find your way home from here?" Naruto asked. The smiled evaporated off their faces, but they slowly nodded. Naruto smiled at them one last time. "I wish I could stay, but I've got to get home." They both returned his smile weakly, waving to him. "Stay safe you two!" And then he vanished before their eyes in a puff of smoke. They stared at the spot where he had been for a few moments.

"That was so cool!" the boy shouted out. Naruto chuckled from his hiding spot on a roof not too far away. He'd always liked entrances and exits.

He had decided during dinner that he was going to follow them and find out where they were staying. He suspected they were homeless, but he wanted to make sure they were safe. The siblings were quiet as they made their way through the city, and Naruto had no problems following them without being noticed.

Before too long the boy and girl had led him to a place in the warehouse district, near the south end of town. They glanced around before entering one of the more dilapidated buildings. Naruto rubbed his chin in thought.

_That's an awfully big place for two homeless kids…_

He jumped down effortlessly, glancing inside the half-open door. Nothing. Naruto walked up the wall silently, using his hands as well as feet to flatten himself to the ceiling. He didn't want anyone to see him. It took only a few minutes to get the main room, and when he got there he nearly shouted in surprise.

Kids. Dozens of them. All of them were wearing clothes that were in various states of wear, and it was obvious that all of them were homeless. Why were there so many homeless children here? And why were they all together? Naruto jumped up into the shadows of the vaulted ceiling silently and heard voices from deeper within the room. He moved quickly towards them.

"—bought us a nice dinner too." Naruto looked down and saw the siblings he'd just been with. They were standing in front of a scrawny looking boy about Naruto's age, and Naruto realized, glancing around again, that no one in this room could be older than ten or so except for this kid.

"He was a _ninja_!" the older boy shouted. The reaction was frightening. Several of the younger kids shouted in surprise and looked around, trying to spot something, while some began to cry and try to hide under something. The older boy sighed, shouting again. "Sorry guys, no ninja here. Was just talking to Keiko and Nishida." After a few moments, the rest of the kids began to calm down, and the older boy turned back to the siblings, talking much softer.

"Ninja just kill and hurt people," the boy told them in a sagely voice. "They don't help people. So he bought you a dinner tonight. So what. Tomorrow? Tomorrow it will be all about trying to kill you, or take whatever you have." The siblings looked down, an ashamed expression on their face. "Ninja are scum. All ninja are scum."

Naruto frowned. What could all of them have against ninja? His eyes fell on a few different kids before something clicked. They're all orphans it seemed. Could… no, why would ninja kill so many of their parents? What had happened?

He looked back down at the pair he'd followed in and saw them bowing to the older boy before finding a spot to lie down.

_So for now I'll assume that all of them hate ninja because some ninja killed their parents,_ Naruto thought, watching as the older boy made rounds, checking on everyone. _They must have all come together to help each other. That older boy has got to be some kind of leader… he's trying to look out for them._

Naruto frowned. What could he do? This was terrible, the way all these kids were living, and he wanted to do something… but what? A grin formed over Naruto's features. He knew what he'd do.

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

Naruto moved silently, using every bit of stealth training he'd ever absorbed. He was in a lavish mansion near the center of town, and he was looking for something valuable. It had been a pretty quick train of thought for Naruto, deciding what to do. The kids needed help, he didn't have money, but there were rich people that _did_ have money and wouldn't really be worse off without it. So he'd just take some from a local noble and give it to the kids. It was brilliant.

The guards were lazy and stupid, Naruto decided. He'd been able to walk almost right to the vault room without worrying about anything. Naruto glanced around the dark room, spotting what he was looking for. It was a locked vault, but Naruto thought maybe he could use chakra…

He walked over silently and put his hands over the locking mechanism, then closed his eyes. He pushed chakra out of his hand, trying to visualize the lock in his mind. All he had to do was get it open, just slide the pieces into—

_Click!_

Naruto opened his eyes and smiled. Clearly this noble wasn't concerned about ninja. He opened the door and peered in. It was mostly empty, but there was a medium sized chest in the center that looked promising. He carefully walked over and lifted the lid, his eyes bulging at what he saw. There was probably close to a million Ryu here… that'd be enough to buy them all clothes and feed them for a few months at least.

He smiled mischievously, closing the lid and tucking the chest under his arm. It had almost been too easy.

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Naruto looked around startled. That was an alarm! He jumped out of the vault, glancing around, seeing guards running at him from all the corridors. Naruto looked forward and ran, jumping out the third story window. Piece of cake.

He pushed chakra into his legs and ran, faster than they could possibly keep up. A few minutes later he stopped behind a shop, panting, waiting to see if he was being followed. Nothing.

Feeling accomplished, Naruto began heading for the warehouse district. He was going to leave them a nice surprise for when they woke up in the morning.

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

Naruto felt warm and uncomfortable. He opened his eyes and saw that the sun was already up, and was shining directly on him and his sleeping bag. He grumbled slightly. Sleeping in hadn't been part of his plan… although he supposed it was only about an hour or so after sunrise. A smirk crossed his face, his eyes looking around his campsite. It was time to go see the fruits of his labor.

Naruto jumped off quickly, moving towards the south end of town where the warehouses were, but along the way something caught his eye. It was the shop where he'd bought the outfit he was wearing now, and the man was consoling a crying woman out front. Naruto frowned.

"What's going on, ojii-san?" Naruto asked, approaching them. The man glanced at Naruto before mumbling something to the woman. He turned back to Naruto and walked over, grinning as he looked at how the blond boy wore the clothes he'd bought.

"One of the noble's got robbed last night," the man started. Naruto tensed for a moment. "The thief stole some money from him, and it was money he had taken out of the bank to buy several things. Lots of shops around here depend on big sales like that." The man looked wistfully back at his store front. The woman seemed to have calmed down, and was heading through the front door.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, that noble was going to buy several expensive outfits from me. I'd been expecting it, and since business has been slow lately, without I'll probably have to close the shop down within a month or so." Naruto looked back at the door sadly.

"You said other shops were expecting something too?" The man nodded.

"Yeah… don't know if any of them are going to have to close, but I'm sure they'll feel it." The man smiled at him. "Thanks for the business kid, and don't worry. There's not really anything you can do about it. Stuff like this happens."

Naruto watched as the man walked back into his store, flustered. He hadn't meant to hurt _other_ people… he was just trying to help the kids. He scowled. This was no good at all.

Naruto leapt up and continued on towards the warehouses, moving quickly in the early morning. As he approached the place the children slept he heard shouting. What was going on?

As he rounded the corner Naruto saw several soldiers surrounding the kids who were standing outside the building with the chest of Ryu in front of them.

"We didn't take it!" the older boy shouted at them. "How could we have taken it?"

"Quiet, brat!" the captain told him. "You all are blights on our town. And we know you've been taking other things from shops." The boy growled at them while the rest of the kids seemed to cower.

"Things like an _apple_, not a case of money! We only did that to survive!" The captain scoffed.

"Like we care. Guards!"

The soldiers gripped their weapons and started in towards the kids, before freezing and suddenly falling forward. Naruto stood, anger on his face, as he looked back at the unconscious soldiers. This was a mess… the shops were in trouble, the kids were in trouble… he hadn't helped anyone, he'd just made everything worse.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said. It took a couple of moments for the kids to figure it out, but as soon as it clicked that he was a ninja it was as if someone had told them they were being chased by a monster. The fear and terror on their faces was absolute.

"Wait!" Naruto heard a familiar voice shout. "He bought me and my brother food yesterday. He's okay." The kids looked skeptical, clearly still afraid of what he might do. Naruto looked back, eyes settling on the older boy who was in charge.

"What are you doing here?" the boy asked in the best menacing voice he could manage. The truth was that he was scared too, he just couldn't show it in front of all his little brothers and sisters… all the kids that looked up to him.

"I…" Naruto wasn't quite sure what to say. He walked over to the chest and picked it up. "Is everything in here?" The boy nodded. Naruto looked down, feeling a bit of shame. Never had he failed so completely as he had here.

"You can't take that, it doesn't belong to you." The boy stared at him fiercely.

"I know. I'm taking it back." Naruto looked over at the soldiers and quickly confiscated their weapons, tying them to a post. "Don't be here when they wake up." He jumped off, case under-arm, without looking back. He couldn't bear to see the looks of fear and anger in their eyes any more.

It took moments for him to reach the noble's house and after only a moment's hesitation, he knocked on the front door. It opened seconds later, a prim, clean man answering the door.

"Can I help you?" Naruto sighed.

"I have something for the lord of the house," he said, lifting up the case. The man's eyes widened.

"Right this way." Naruto follow him into a sitting room with incredibly comfy chairs and was told to wait. He looked around, waiting nervously. After a few minutes the door burst open, and a tall, thin man in impressive looking robes walked in. Naruto greeted the man with a noted lack of enthusiasm, and the noble returned his greeting, closing the door to the room so they were alone.

"Is it all there?" the man asked him. Naruto shrugged.

"I think so." The noble opened the case and his eyes darted across the contents, a smile forming on his lips.

"Yes… Yes, it's all here." He closed the chest and looked back at Naruto. "I'll give you a reward for finding it!" The noble told him. Naruto paused. He could give the reward to the kids… then it would kind of make everything better… no. No more dishonesty. That wasn't his way.

"I don't think you should," Naruto told him. "I'm… I'm the one that took it." The noble stared at him for a moment before slowly walking over to the window.

"I see," he said quietly. "You know, you could have said nothing." Naruto looked at him oddly.

"You're not angry?" The man glanced at him before looking back out the window.

"Yes, I am a little angry." An uneasy silence fell between them. "Why did you take it?" Naruto had the grace to look ashamed.

"Well…" he began, "yesterday I ran into these two kids…" Naruto explain the previous day to him, including the conditions the kids lived in. When he got to the part where he took the money the man looked at him with tight lips, but did not interrupt. Before too long Naruto had finished explaining what had happened and just stared at the man for a few moments.

"I guess… they reminded me of bad memories from when I was a kid." The noble man stared at him before nodding. "I never meant to actually hurt anyone… I didn't know that it would affect all these people so much… like the old man with the clothing shop."

"Yes… certainly tragic." He turned back towards the window, obviously consumed in thought. After a few uncomfortable moments, he turned back and faced Naruto. "The world is a lot more complex than you seem to think it is, my blond-haired friend. You can't fix things by just taking something from one person and giving it to another." The man looked far away for a moment before turning back to the window.

"You may think that the solution is as simple as me sharing my wealth, but the truth is that I already do that… though perhaps not in the way you imagine." He paused for a moment. "Perhaps taking my wealth would be a way to help those kids, but an equally good solution would have been if ninja had never killed their parents." The man looked over at Naruto before continuing.

"Most of their parents were casualties from ninja fights… the sort of people that were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The ninja's who killed them probably didn't mean to, but neither did they care about those consequences." He gave Naruto a serious look. "You might think it unfair that I am wealthy while others suffer, but it would be equally unfair for ninja's like you to take someone's life without feeling the consequences of that action." Naruto looked down. He'd never thought about it before.

"I don't think they don't care…" Naruto said. "Or… some of them care, I know that." It was a lame response. The man gave him an appraising look.

"Well you obviously care." He sighed. "People around here depend on me. Perhaps it's not fair that I'm wealthy while others aren't but the truth is that someone _has_ to be wealthy. Someone has to run things, and be the one that others depend on. It certainly isn't fair that it's me, but it wouldn't be fair to take that from me either." He seemed to pause, as if deciding something.

"I'll make a deal with you though," the man said. Naruto looked at him questioningly. "I will open up a small orphanage for children whose parents suffer their fate at the hands of ninjas. But in return, I want you to try and keep the fighting away from us here, and to buy things that suit you from our people."

Naruto looked at him in shock. Yes, this man was obviously much better off than many of the people here, but such a deal was designed to protect the people of this town, and little else. Purchasing things from this town would in a small way make him wealthier, but it would be barely noticeable to him. He was acting like this town's Hokage, Naruto realized. And the thought made Naruto feel respect for the man.

"I can't promise anything for Konoha, but I will do my best." Naruto looked at him seriously. "I'll do whatever I can to hold up my end of the deal…" He looked at the noble with determination etched on his face. "That's my way of the ninja." The man paused then allowed himself a smile.

"What's your name, young ninja?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," he said, flashing his trademark grin. "And one day… I'll be Hokage." The noble nodded. After a few more pleasantries, and a small bit of money from the noble, Naruto left to go clean up his campsite. Today, he would leave to head for the River country.

The noble watched him run off smiling to himself.

"Hmmm… The Uzumaki Naruto Children's Orphanage… has a nice ring to it." The man turned and summoned a few servants. He would get those kids clean clothes first.

Naruto smiled as he rushed through town. He felt like he'd actually accomplished something, and… for some reason it felt worthwhile… like it was something that truly mattered. He thought of Keiko and Nishida. Well, it would certainly matter to them.

**Author's Note:** I wrote a 1,200 word author's note here before I started this chapter. I threw it out because it can be summed up in a very few sentences that will probably offend less people: First, I'm probably older than most of my audience, so sometimes it may be difficult for us to connect properly. For that I apologize. There's little you can do to change that, and making my writing more universal is really the only solution. It just means I'm not a good enough author yet…

Second, as odd as this may sound, I find myself disappointed in many of the people reading. Many of the reviews I've gotten, on this and my other stories, are leading me to believe that there are no longer readers of fan fiction who intellectually engage in the stories. Sad.

Last, while this story has gotten the most negative response for any story I've ever published in any fandom, it happens to be one of my favorite one's I've worked on. So for that I will unapologetically continue.

Now, for something else on my mind. In addition to reading some annoying reviews (not all necessarily on this story), I followed that up last week by slugging through some annoying stories. I won't name names, because that's not very polite, although I doubt any of the authors read my stories.

The combination was rather frustrating though. It left me longing for something decent to read… and put me in a bad mood (if you couldn't tell). This version of my author's note is actually number four, and each version got _less_ angry and frustrated. That should tell you something.

Ah well. If I really wanted to tell the internet about the things that frustrated me I'd make a LiveJournal account and wear eyeliner.

Chapter 4 will take longer than this one I imagine, (and it very well may not be as lengthy as this one). Additionally, I'm pretty sure I'm going to finish up the next chapter of _Twice Shy_ before I work on this any more unless I run into writers block. Writing in _Twice Shy_ is a bit more difficult since I'm 200,000 words into character development. It makes the characters a bit harder to work with.

Anyway, you should be seeing a new _Twice Shy_ chapter soon.

**PS:** I updated the first chapter to clarify what everyone was freaking out about. I honestly don't think that Hinata was out of character. In the manga, she could never work up the courage until she thought she was going to lose Naruto, and this is no different. When people, shy or not shy, are about to lose the important things in their lives, they often do things they never thought they would in order to keep them. Hope the additions to Naruto and Hinata's conversation helps.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"_When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you."_  
–Friedrich Nietzsche

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Naruto was approaching the border with River country. He could tell because the forest was starting to thin, and the terrain was more mountainous, but it was the smell that was the largest give away. The air was absolutely perfumed with the smell of fresh water, and Naruto was vaguely aware of a growing hum that could only be the sound of water flowing over rocks.

It was soothing, Naruto thought to himself as he jumped from branch to branch at an almost leisurely pace. He was going slow for a reason though... he had the oddest feeling that someone was following him, and he had slowed down to see if he could hear them or sense them.

So far all he'd seen was the forest though, and he was beginning to wonder if maybe he'd started losing his mind. He stopped in a small clearing, deciding it was time for lunch. It had been a day since he'd left the town with Keiko and Nishida, and he'd only had a ration bar since then.

_What's there to eat around here?_ Naruto wondered to himself. Perhaps he could fish something? Although... he didn't exactly know how to fish. Hmm...

A flash of movement to his left caught his attention and a split second later his kunai was out ready to face... a rabbit? The creature, startled by his sudden movement had darted back into a bush, but Naruto was sure that's what it had been.

_I bet I could eat that..._ Naruto thought almost longingly. He set down his pack and moved into the bushes as stealthily as he could, trying to find the rabbit again. It couldn't have gotten very far... there!

The kunai landed in the rabbits tail, pinning it to the forest floor, but the creature flailed wildly, dislodging the blade and allowing it to run off as fast as its legs would go. Naruto quickly gathered his kunai again and followed, making sure he didn't lose sight of the small mammal.

It was easy to follow now... it was leaving a trail of blood droplets from the wound in its once-fluffy tail, and he could almost taste the meat. His pace quickened and he jumped forward, landing in front of the rabbit. He threw his kunai again, but before it'd even left his hand the creature had changed directions, moving off to the left.

Naruto swore, quickly creating a shadow clone to retrieve the kunai before running off after his lunch, pulling a fresh one from his pouch. The creature seemed the be getting more frantic, which meant it was going to make a mistake, but just before Naruto lined up for another throw it darted into a small hole in the ground.

Naruto landed, looking at the opening suspiciously. Surely it couldn't be too deep... he peered down into the darkness, using his kunai to reflect some light into it. Naruto winced. It was a mother... and these must be her children.

He could just make out three of the tiniest, fluffiest creatures he'd ever seen trying to crowd around their mother, who was cowering at the back of the space. They didn't understand what was wrong, or why their mother was ignoring them, but it was upsetting. Something was different, and different was something they weren't used to in their short lives.

Naruto looked down at the ground, putting his kunai back into his pouch, his stomach growling. He couldn't do it... the rabbit wasn't just a meal to him anymore, it was a mother. He couldn't take their mother from her just because he was hungry... it felt so very wrong. It grated against his very being it felt like.

And he'd injured her.

Naruto sighed. Looked like it was berries and nuts for him today. He'd bring some back here to make it up to them for injuring her. It was really the least he could do.

He dashed off, eyes scanning for anything that looked edible, and after about half an hour he had pocketfuls of assorted nuts and berries. He was sure that none of these were poisonous, building on his experience recently. He popped a few into his mouth and made his way back toward the rabbit hole, looking forward to making it right in his head.

Naruto stopped suddenly. There was blood everywhere. He looked around confused. It looked as if something had been killed here recently, but he had left the rabbit alone, so what could have... He stopped, noticing for the first time a paw print in the blood. It was unmistakable, especially to him: a fox.

He rushed over to the rabbit hole, bringing the kunai up to shed light, only to find it devoid of anything but various tufts of fur and a great deal more blood. The rabbit and its children were gone. The fox had found and followed the blood trail, he realized. It was how _he'd_ tracked the rabbit so it made sense... but that meant this was his fault.

Naruto frowned. He'd killed them...

He looked back at the paw prints and saw the trail leading away. Well, he'd just go and take care of the fox then. Turnabout was fair play.

If Naruto was honest with himself, he had plenty of aggression and anger to unleash on a fox... this just happened to be the unlucky one.

It wasn't difficult to follow the trail the fox had left, and before long he found himself standing in front of a small hole that looked remarkably similar to where the rabbit had lived. Bringing his kunai up, Naruto shined light into the opening, making sure that the fox was there.

Well... he hadn't expected that.

The fox was there alright. With _her_ children. Naruto frowned again.

His kunai lowered slowly, as he stood a bit confused. Naruto was a firm believer in binary logic, although he would never call it that; the idea that something is either one way or the other. That there was no in-between.

But life these last few days had been anything but one way or the other… it had been all over the place. It was as if the universe was trying to show him his own foolishness. Naruto scowled, his hands in his pockets as he slowly made his way back to the campsite.

He'd tried to help the orphans by giving them money, but that had blown up in his face. He'd tried to make things simpler than they were. And again, it seemed the universe has been determined to show him just how simple his perspectives were. He'd felt obligated to spare the rabbit mother, only to have nature illustrate to him the order of things.

This wasn't very fun, he decided. First of all, it wasn't very fun to have all your assumptions blow up in your face. But second, the alternative wasn't much better: approaching things logically. Logic was a word he barely even knew… it was such a cumbersome thing.

Up till now it had also been useless. What was the point of complex logic when he could simply force the world to make him right? It'd worked up till now… more or less. Naruto thought back to the fight with Haku and Zabuza. Things had turned out alright, even though he'd just run into that really cool ice jutsu, but they only turned out that way because Haku was a kind person. If Haku _had_ been aiming to kill…

Maybe up till now all of that had been an illusion, he thought for a moment. What if things had always worked out because of the people around him, and not because he just forced them to? It was certainly something to ponder. If that was the case then… then what about the day when none of those people were there to make things turn out alright? What if a day came where there wasn't anyone to pull him out of some mistake he'd made?

"Well, there's no way around it then," Naruto said out loud to himself, more to break up the silence than anything. "If I am going to keep my promises and protect my precious people I can't have other people saving me from my mistakes."

_If I make a mistake… that's the same as going back on my word._ Naruto thought seriously, returning to his campsite and setting up a camp fire. _And not going back on my word… is my way of the ninja…_

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

"You gave him the Shodai's necklace?" Jiraiya asked unable to keep the surprise out of his tone. He was trying to figure out how Naruto had managed that.

"He's persuasive," Tsunade said, shrugging. "And since Sarutobi-sensei…" She trailed off for a moment. "I thought I'd go back and at least give my respects." Jiraiya smirked.

"They sent me to come and find you," he said casually. She nodded. That was to be expected. "They want you to take his place."

"WHAT!" Her face contorted through several emotions. "I'm not going back." Jiraiya frowned.

"Just a minute ago you were headed back on your own," he pointed out.

"I didn't know they'd try and make me take _that_ job." She stared at him for a few moments. "I _hate_ that job, and I can barely tolerate that place… I was just going back to pay my respects." Tsunade gave him a funny look. "Why don't _you_ take it?"

"They offered it to me," Jiraiya commented. "But I'm not cut out to be Hokage. You know that. I'm better off training the next one."

"The next one?"

"Naruto."

Tsunade chuckled a bit. He'd been quite adamant about his dream when they'd talked, no matter what she said, and he'd had such respect for the position that it had made her feel guilty about bad-mouthing the Third when she found out he had died… been murdered.

"And what makes you think he's cut out to be Hokage?" Tsunade asked him warily.

"Well," Jiraiya began slowly, "let's just say he takes after his father in all the ways that matter."

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

Naruto was staring at the dirt, truly amazed. He could remember it. He knew it had been a clone he'd sent to pick up his wayward kunai while chasing the rabbit, but in the confusion he hadn't really examined his memories of the fast-paced chase until now.

In fact, the only reason he'd noticed it now was because he'd picked up the same kunai in his hand, immediately confused when he'd remembered where he'd placed it, even though _he_ hadn't put it there. He was convinced that he'd done something wrong with his shadow clone technique at first, but thinking back to all the times he'd used it before, he realized that his memories always became a jumbled mess after, as if he'd seen the fight from a thousand different points of view…

Intrigued, Naruto made a new clone, who immediately saluted.

"What's up boss?"

"Go behind that tree and draw something with this kunai, then dispel. I want to see if I know what it is you made."

The clone nodded before trotting off, disappearing behind a tree. In a few seconds, Naruto felt a rushing sensation as he seemed to immediately understand everything the clone had understood. It had carved an 'X'. Curious, Naruto walked over and examined the bark, seeing the exact carving he remembered.

_This is amazing!_ Naruto could hardly believe his luck. Being able to remember many things at once could be very handy for scouting, or sending messages. _Wait until I tell Kakashi-sensei!_ But that thought made Naruto pause.

Kakashi knew the Shadow Clone technique. Surely he already knew about this if it was something that the technique always did. Why hadn't anyone told him about it? He scrunched up his face for a moment, concentrating.

_Well, I hardly ever see anyone else use the technique, even if they know it. Everyone says that it costs them too much chakra… maybe they just didn't think about using it for stuff like sending messages?_ That thought actually spawned another in the young blond: just how far away and how long could a shadow clone last? He hadn't ever really had a need to find out.

"Well, I'll think about that later. For now, I need some food." Naruto crossed his fingers into the familiar seal and spawned two dozen clones into existence. "Alright guys! Find some food! Bring it back here when you're done!" They shouted their affirmation in unison before jumping away in different directions.

Naruto bent down to start getting the rest of his camp site ready for the evening. He was going to train the rest of the day. It wouldn't do any good if he lost his ninja skills while he was on his Walkabout.

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

Naruto had just eaten and was positively brimming with excitement. One of his clones had brought back fish. Fish was alright, but that wasn't what he was excited about. The clone had tried to just grab the fish with no success, so it had spent an hour figuring out how to make a very crude fishing spear and done much better.

Naruto now _also_ knew how to make the crude fishing spear.

What this meant to Naruto couldn't really be explained in a way others would truly understand. He had never even considered using the memories of clones to learn new skills, but this clone had inadvertently given him the idea, and that idea had several sweeping conclusions.

Naruto, while mostly an 'act first' type of person, understood immediately how his use of the technique was different from others. He'd seen Kakashi, a top rate Jounin, cap at two clones for the duration of a fight. Naruto could best that by almost three orders of magnitude, and he could keep them going much longer.

Math had never been a strong subject for him, but it's not like it was difficult math: if he had one thousand clones practice something for a day, it would be similar to experiencing one thousand days of that practice. He understood, perhaps from how much he'd used the Shadow Clone technique, that it wouldn't be as good as one thousand consecutive days of practice… after all, none of the clones knew what the other clones had figured out, so many would probably repeat the same mistakes or make the same discoveries, and they all started from the same place.

But… if they dispelled every few hours… then he could have a training tool that would let him practice more, and understand what he was studying better, than any other ninja in the world.

A thousand clones for a day was almost three years worth of memories. A full month of sustaining one thousand clones, far beyond his ability but for argument's sake he reasoned, was over eighty years worth of study.

He knew there was no way he could cram that much practice into a month realistically, but even something more modest, like say ten years worth of training every month, would make him one of the best ninja in the world in nearly no time at all.

That is, if he knew what to practice.

Well, without a teacher, the only thing he could practice is things he already knew something about. And that meant for now that he would only be able to improve on his weaknesses. Improving on your weaknesses required you to acknowledge them though, and that was something that Naruto almost habitually refused to do.

If he acknowledged his weaknesses, how would ever get anyone else to acknowledge his strengths? But out here… no one was here to judge him. He was by himself, or sometimes, by a thousand copies of himself.

Well, his close range attacks must be weak, he reasoned. When he created a hundred clones they were usually rebuffed with minimal effort, even by other genin. The way Neji had simply dismissed the majority of his attacks stuck in his mind.

So first was improving his taijutsu he reasoned. It was painful to admit, but what Kiba had said had a bit of truth in it: a thousand times nothing is still nothing.

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

Naruto woke up the next morning completely exhausted. Perhaps he'd pushed his limits a bit, but he was excited about the results. He'd tried using hundreds of clones at first, but found that since he was trying to fine tune his technique that was actually counter-productive. Dropping it down to an even fifty clones had allowed him to try and direct his clones on their technique while he observed, then dispel them and practice the refinements himself.

He reasoned that he had to do it himself after in order to get the reflexes right. He'd repeated this process several times before passing out from fatigue. But by the end of the night the results were noticeable, even to him. His clones now attacked with more precision, and less wasted motion, an important factor in how effective taijutsu was.

Near the end of the night another idea had struck him. Sure, taijutsu really worked best, at least the way he was doing it, with about fifty clones, but why could more clones be doing other things? Like maybe that water walking stuff to practice his control that people always told him was off, or maybe even working on other basic stuff.

He was tired of people always calling him dead last because he couldn't do the basic stuff well. They never said anything about the super-awesome shadow clones he could make, or the cool summon he could do. He figured if he made that basic stuff really good they wouldn't have any choice but to acknowledge the things he did that were awesome.

Most ninja could only train one thing at a time, but if he used clones he could practice many things at once as long as he gave the clones instruction. The possibilities had excited him further, and he was anxious to try it out, but right now he was too hungry to train.

Fortunately getting food was fairly trivial with an army of clones, and in short order he was full and ready for the day. He was about to summon a bunch of clones, when he got an eerie feeling, like he was being watched. Something was off… the sounds.

Ever since he'd left Konoha there'd been lots of animal sounds, but now there were none. It was something he normally wouldn't notice, but it was hard not to notice having spent the last few days out among the forest creatures.

Naruto pulled himself into a ready stance, slowly withdrawing a kunai.

"Alright, whoever you are, get out here!"

For a few moments there was nothing, until he heard the faintest of rustles behind him and whirled around to come face to face with a ninja that looked vaguely familiar. He had short black hair, pale skin and was wearing a dark cloak with red clouds on it.

"Very good, Naruto-kun," the ninja spoke smoothly. It was unnerving. The man in front of him spoke as if there was nothing outside his control. "I was curious about how you had grown since I last saw you. It seems that you do notice the simple things."

Naruto quickly produced a dozen or so clones and glared at the man, clutching the kunai tightly in his hands.

"Who are you?" Naruto for the second time in several days was a bit scared to be facing someone he'd never met who knew his name.

"How is my little brother?" the man asked, ignoring Naruto's question.

"How should I know?" Naruto spat angrily. His clones were slowly spreading out into a formation that would allow him to attack. It was something he had practiced last night, and this seemed like a great opportunity to give it a shot.

"He is your teammate."

Naruto was shocked into silence. What was Sasuke's brother's name? Itachi? Yeah, that was it. Wasn't that the person he wanted to kill? Hadn't this man killed Sasuke's family? Naruto gritted his teeth.

"He'll be doing a lot better once I tell him you're dead."

Naruto's clones launched at Itachi with a cohesion and timing that the missing nin hadn't been expecting… but for a ninja like Itachi it was barely enough to make him move. Almost faster than Naruto could see, Itachi dispatched half the clones and the other half jumped away, trying to decide what to do next.

Naruto caught a flash of something in Itachi's eyes… the Sharingan! Suddenly one of the clones to his left popped and a rush of memories filled Naruto's head. The clone had looked into Itachi's eyes and had been trapped in some kind of horrible genjutsu… Itachi had told him about the genjutsu, or told his clone anyway, before starting to torture the clone. Fortunately, that didn't last long, as the clone was dispelled from a disruption of its chakra soon after, but the memories still gave Naruto a headache.

He clutched his head and looked down at Itachi's feet. _What kind of monster is he?_

"Which one of you is real, Naruto-kun?" Itachi asked in almost a playfully bored voice.

_Think! What can I do?_ Naruto glanced around at his clones. More clones wouldn't help against this guy, and he was too fast for Naruto to summon Gamabunta.

_Maybe if I make hundreds of clones I can – _Naruto was cut short by a sharp sensation in his stomach. He looked down shocked, and saw a simple blade protruding from his naval. He was starting to feel the pain, and glanced behind to see Itachi, or maybe a clone, holding a rather plain looking sword in his back.

"I had to get you out here by yourself, Naruto-kun," Itachi whispered from behind. "That's why I left the scroll on your table."

"Bu…" Naruto couldn't even manage to form words. The pain was starting to become very real, and if he knew more about medicine he'd recognize that his body was starting to slip into shock, and his thought processes were becoming blank.

"_Naruto-sama…"_ a soft voice whispered in his ear. It sounded… so friendly. _"Naruto-sama… are you alright?"_ No, he wasn't alright, was he? _"Naruto-sama, look at me."_

Naruto's brain kicked in and he quickly realized something was off… he appeared to be in an infinite, featureless white plain, with a tall, pale woman in front of him. Where was Itachi? What happened?

Back at the clearing, Itachi was wondering the same thing. He stared down curiously at his empty sword. There'd been a flash of light, and then Naruto had been gone. It couldn't have been Hiraishin, could it?

"Well the boss won't like this," Kisame offered from the edge of the clearing. "I still don't get why you wanted me to hide." Kisame looked at the space where Naruto had been. "You don't think it was the Biiju, do you?"

"No," Itachi said simply. He rose in one smooth motion and put his blade back before turning and walking away.

"Where am I?" Naruto asked the… person in front of him. At least he thought she was a person. There was something so unnatural about her.

"You are in between spaces," the woman answered ethereally. "I have been trying to talk to you for a while now."

"Why?" Naruto asked. This whole thing was very strange.

"To teach you who you really are," the woman answered matter-of-factly.

"And who are you?" Naruto asked. This place seemed so peaceful.

"I am just a messenger." This entire situation was quite confusing to Naruto.

"Well then who am I?"

"You are special." Naruto wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. "You have the demon sealed inside you. But not just any demon, the Nine-Tailed Fox."

"What of it?" Naruto asked defensively.

"There is a reason that things have happened as they have," the woman explained. "The fox is too powerful to be sealed in a normal human being. There was another, long ago, who held the original Ten-Tailed Demon, and he was special also. Right now in your world there is one who is seeking to reunite the demon parts and rebuild the Ten-Tailed Demon of myth, but he does not know that it is beyond his capability. Only one with holy chakra can contain such a beast."

"Holy chakra?"

"Long ago there was a man known to your people as Sage of Six Paths. He sealed within himself the all-powerful Ten-Tailed Demon, but was unable to balance the world. He had a powerful bloodline that today exists only in one other person. You, and your father before you, are descendant from this man, and carry his special quality?"

"You mean I have a cool bloodline?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"No," the woman replied. "You do not carry his bloodline. Instead, you carry his essence. You are the only remaining being in your world able to use holy chakra."

"I'm confused," Naruto said, getting frustrated. "What are you trying to say?"

"A small part of you, Naruto, is descendant from a holy being. It is that part of you that allows you to contain the Nine-Tailed Fox. Any other person would have long ago fallen to the demon's chakra and become a minor demon themselves. Your father knew this, and that is why he chose you to seal the Fox into."

"But the Fox was sealed by… are… are you saying that the Fourth Hokage was my father?" Naruto nearly shouted.

"Yes, but that is not what's important. You must stop the man from your world from collecting the nine demons together. If he does, he will attempt to seal them into himself, and when that happens the world will forever fall dark. He will be unable to control them… instead they will control him, and they will seek the destruction of your world."

"So, you're saying I'm some kind of Kami?"

"Not quite. You are their hope, embodied." There was a silence as Naruto tried to go over what was being said in his mind.

"So… what is this holy chakra then?"

"It is the remnant of the ancient Sage I spoke of before, who served in his time as the mediator between your world and the world beyond."

"Well, how am I supposed to stop this guy then? There's lots of other ninja that are more powerful than I am."

"Yes," the woman nodded, "but none can use their chakra like you can. You must become stronger, Naruto, so that you can defend your world. It has lived in darkness for too long, and you are the last chance your world has of peace and happiness."

"But I don't even know what makes this holy chakra special, and I'm not sure how I could become as strong as you're saying."

"This is as much as I was allowed to give you," the woman replied, holding out her hand which contained a small sphere of glowing light. "I will teach you the basics of your holy chakra. The rest is in your hands."

Naruto looked at her outstretched hand warily. He still wasn't sure about all of this. It seemed to him like this was just a very strange dream, and yet… Nartuo slowly reached out and grabbed her hand. As soon as he did he felt a rush of… something. It was like getting memories from a shadow clone, but less organized and more rough. He felt like he was going to pass out, and just when he felt he could take no more, it stopped, and he found himself somewhere in the forest near where he had been.

_Well that was certainly strange._ He didn't really feel any different, and when he tried to think about it, he didn't seem to understand what this whole 'holy' chakra thing was any better than before.

Without any warning, Naruto found himself within his mindscape. He groaned to himself in frustration. _What now?_

Naruto walked the familiar path to where he knew the demon fox was waiting. He wasn't exactly anxious… he was more annoyed. This entire morning had been like a whirlwind of things that he could barely keep up with, and the fox had never called him here before.

Turning into the last corridor, Naruto caught sight of the cage and was shocked to find it filled with angry looking red chakra. What was going on?

"_**Release me!"**_ the demon yelled. Being a demon, his yelling seemed to reverberate off of Naruto's bones, and the effect was quite terrifying. However Naruto was less afraid than he had ever been before with the fox, and simply walked over near the cage, putting his hands behind his head.

"What's your problem fur-ball? You know I'd never let you out!"

"_**Puny human, don't play games! Release me now!"**_ Naruto scoffed and turned to leave.

"If that's all you brought me here for…"

"_**No! Please!"**_ Naruto stopped immediately. Had the fox just said please? Something was going on. Naruto turned back to face the demon.

"What's got you so worked up?"

"_**I thought I had more time, but now… you must release me."**_ Naruto wasn't sure what was so urgent. The fox had always seemed to act as if he could simply wait Naruto's entire life if needed. As if the concerns of a mortal were so far below him that they could barely even be considered.

"What's the problem? Why now?" The demon replied by growling and releasing a flurry of chakra. Naruto was undeterred however, and just stared at the fox with cold, hard calculation. "If you're not going to tell me, I'm leaving."

The fox slowly calmed down, and to Naruto's amazement, slumped as if defeated.

"_**What the light one spoke is true. You have holy chakra flowing through you, miniscule pest you are."**_ Naruto cocked his head to the side a bit, intrigued. _**"That other blond one put me here because he was sure your holy chakra would hold me back. Before, that was true. But with the gift the light one just gave you…"**_

The giant beast trailed off and Naruto began to actually looked at the fox, completely, for the first time. He wasn't any good at reading people, or demons for that matter, but the Kyuubi seemed to look as if it felt… powerless. How strange.

"Keep going," Naruto commanded. The fox growled briefly before turning away slightly.

"_**Now your holy nature is developing. Since I am sealed here it is only a matter of time until your chakra begins to affect me. Before I could hold it back, but it is too strong now. The seal prevents me from fighting it completely."**_

"Wait," Naruto jumped in. "Are you saying… you're going to die?" The fox's laugh rumbled out in a giant rolling sound, and made Naruto jump.

"_**Die? You think I will die? No, I am not that pathetic."**_ The fox paused, as if considering something. _**"In some ways… it is worse than death…"**_ There were a few moments of silence before Naruto grew impatient.

"I'm waiting."

"_**It… will cleanse me of my demonic nature. Eventually I will no longer be a demon, nor will I be a Kami, I will be… something else."**_

"Oh," Naruto replied. "Well that doesn't sound so bad." The fox glared at him.

"_**And if I took you and put you in the body of a deer, would you be happy? Would it matter to you that deer have less to worry about? Would you care that you wouldn't have to worry about having friends anymore?"**_ Naruto was confused by the fox's reply for a few moments, until it dawned on him.

"You're scared," Naruto said simply. The fox growled some more, but didn't deny it. "All you've ever been is a demon."

"_**You must release me,"**_ the fox told him again. _**"I shall even ensure that I will leave your people in peace."**_ Naruto shook his head.

"I can't do that. You heard that woman, someone is out there looking for you and the other tailed demons. If I let you go they might find you." The fox let out a furious roar.

"_**And if they do I shall make them wish they hadn't."**_

He stopped to think for a few moments. He had never seen the fox afraid of anything, and this was a fear he could actually relate to. The fear of change, and of the unknown. At the same time, this was still a demon, and an important one at that. It was difficult for him to trust anything it said.

"I'll make you a deal," Naruto said finally. The fox's eyes narrowed.

"_**You want to exchange for some of my power?"**_ Kyuubi asked sarcastically. Naruto shook his head, leaving the demon confused.

"No, I'm not going to exchange power for your freedom. Instead I'll make you a different kind of deal: I can't release you. There's too many things that can go wrong. But… every creature, from us 'puny' humans, to all-powerful demons, understand fear of being alone, or fear of the unknown.

"So the deal I'll make is this: so long as it doesn't kill either of us, I'll try to find a way to stop you from being cleansed. But if I can't, and you lose your demonic nature, that I promise that you'll have me as a friend to help you face whatever it is you become, so that you don't go it alone. And that's the promise of a lifetime."

Despite the various insinuations and accusations that made the Kyuubi feel as if he was being talked down to, he couldn't help but be impressed. The little brat was actually trying to help him… albeit in a way that didn't hurt him or his friends, but that was to be expected. No, it was against everything he knew about humans for one to make such an offer to him. Perhaps… he could turn this cleansing process into something that would make things better.

"_**You will find nothing that can stop this conversion,"**_ the giant fox told him. _**"You would be fighting against the very nature of chakra itself."**_

"Maybe," Naruto allowed, "but I'll try to anyway. Because I promised I would."

"_**And what do you get?"**_ The fox asked him, still a bit cautious.

"Well," Naruto said slowly, "maybe if you're right, and you lose your demonic nature, I'll get a friend."

With that, the blond turned and left, the fox staring at where he had been. Friends? With such an utterly pathetic organism? What an affront that would be to his power! And yet… he could feel his own power waning. He hadn't said just how urgent it had been… it would only be a few days before the cleansing was complete, and then?

Then… maybe having a friend would be a good thing. At least he was interesting for a creature so pathetic.

**Author's Note:** Well this chapter went all over the place before I finally figured out what I wanted to do with it. I actually have a pretty good idea of where the whole story is headed now.

Also, for those who read my other Naruto story, Twice Shy, I apologize. The story was a victim of two hard drive failures that both resulted in me having to rewrite the next chapter from scratch. I'm almost finished rewriting it for the third time, so I hope to put it up soon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"We did not change as we grew older; we just became more clearly ourselves."  
–Lynn Hall

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It had been nearly a month since his encounter with Itachi, and Naruto finally felt like a real ninja. He had spent the last three weeks living in a cave in a remarkably remote valley of River Country, and while it had been weird at first to not have anyone else around, he now had a routine that gave him a feeling of worth. He was living just fine, thank you, with nothing but his own wits.

His modest cave had been altered to be a bit more comfortable, including a small hole for smoke so that he could light a fire inside. He had plenty of food stored, mostly fish, smoked so that it would preserve and he had meals if he couldn't gather new stores for a while.

But most importantly, at least to him, he felt like an adult. Not because he could take care of himself... he'd felt like he could do that from the age of seven. It was because he finally... understood. He could think and focus and ponder, and one of his favorite topics was pondering why he hadn't done it before.

All of the best ninja were thinkers. Able to reason through situations, observe what was happening, make inferences about their surroundings and circumstances. He'd finally concluded, especially with the abruptness that it had come to him, that there had been some kind of actual block on his mind. It could have been some kind of seal, or perhaps something less ninja-related. His favorite theory though was that it was either related to the fox or to the new holy chakra that he could use.

But one of the other things about pondering was that it was difficult to lie to yourself, and deep down Naruto knew there was no external excuse for his lack of thought. If he was honest, it was because thought was rather unappealing. Will and determination he had a great deal of, and so he often would approach things through nothing but sheer will and determination.

Still, the Walkabout had opened his mind. Nothing was as black and white out here in the real world as he'd taught himself to believe. Not even the life of a forest creature. The fact that he didn't have the power to force things to be simple compelled him to confront this simplistic view, and now he had discarded it as mostly useless.

The only time he'd tried to force his will on the world out here, he'd nearly ruined the lives of dozens of people in a small town. And every day since, he'd thought about the Sandaime.

The old man had always seemed so kind and wise. He always seemed to know what to say and what to do, and in his mind, Naruto felt that's what a Hokage should be. The Hokage never promised things he couldn't deliver, and Naruto had a habit of making promises before he knew how to keep them.

The fox had been right... it had been scarcely a week before Naruto could no longer sense the poison of the demon's aura. The presence was still there, it was just... not so bloodthirsty. Naruto hadn't been able to speak with the Kyuubi since the apparent cleansing. It was as if the giant beast had shut him out to be alone.

At first the blond ninja had been somewhat peeved. It seemed like a terribly rude thing to do, and the giant fox didn't even have the excuse of being a demon any more... probably. But after a few days without even the fox's presence, Naruto had decided to try some silence for himself, and had found an untouched oasis of a valley. Now, he felt he understood somewhat. The silence of true solitude was actually quite enjoyable; no one was here to judge him, or ridicule him, or discourage him; there was no one here to impress or to compete with. No one mattered but himself, and after several weeks Naruto was ready to admit that he had not given very much thought to how much he mattered.

He'd despised the villagers in some ways, and had vowed to take every one of their barbs as a challenge that he would prove wrong, until they had nothing to say at all. He had thought this was him caring about himself, but after a month he was ready to admit that it was quite the opposite. A person who felt that they mattered wouldn't seek that much attention or praise. Sure, it was nice, and he would always enjoy that, but to need it? Wants have desires, but needs have causes.

This had been something of a vacation for him almost. Very little training, no work or stress of other people, just himself and the forest. He began to feel like he understood what the true point of this Walkabout thing was.

But today it was back to work. This was a perfect place to train undisturbed, and he wanted to see just how far he could push himself.

He didn't have anyone out here to teach him or help him with things, and so over the last few days he'd decided on something different: he was going to invent things. His best tactics, and some of the best technique training he had ever done, had happened when no one had told him enough to learn it, so he'd had to invent the rest.

And invent he would, starting with his holy chakra.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

Naruto stood in front of hundreds of clones. This batch was three days old, his longest yet, and that had forced him to hold meetings where he could give instructions.

"Alright. Today groups one through three will be working on the new clone technique we've all been working on; groups four and five... you're on gopher duty, helping everyone else out; group six, seven and eight, holy chakra; group nine and ten, you're on chakra control."

All his facsimiles nodded in agreement, ready to start their day.

"I'll be heading to the village to look for some scrolls. Anything I can find on jutsu creation or seals, but this far out I'm not gonna hold my breath. Remember, avoid detection. Gophers are also on lookout. And most important... organize your thoughts at the end of the day! It's gonna be hard enough to deal with all these memories. Go!"

His clones went about their assignments with professional efficiency, much to his satisfaction, as he left for the nearest village. He'd been moving to a new location every time his clones dispelled, and usually checked the nearest settlement for anything interesting.

Lately he'd been frustrated with seals. He hadn't found any decent scrolls on the subject yet, and without some all he could do is try to dissect an exploding seal. But that was both dangerous and of limited utility since he didn't really know much about them yet.

He was feeling confident though... maybe today was the day he would add some sealing scrolls to his library...

He had barely begun his journey when he felt a familiar pull from within, and soon found himself in his mindscape, standing in front of the Kyuubi's cage. The immense creature was sitting, staring at him intently.

"Uh..." Naruto stared for a moment. "It's been a while." The giant fox made an odd wheezing sound that Naruto figured was chuckling.

_**"Indeed it has."**_

An uncomfortable silence passed between them.

"So, uh..." Naruto glanced at the nine waving tails behind the fox. "Are you still a demon?"

_**"No,"**_ the fox replied. _**"I am... different."**_

"Then... my promise?"

The fox cocked his head.

_**"I have been watching you, Naruto. You have grown tremendously since we last talked, but as your... friend pointed out, there are great trials ahead, and in the face of those you are still yet insignificant. I do not desire your friendship. That is a trapping of humanity that has no meaning to me. But I do wish to help you.**_

_**"You have the ability and potential to be incredibly powerful, for a human, and this could give you the opportunity to shape your world in ways that no human before you could. But it will be difficult to do so on your own."**_

Naruto looked at his hands and thought for a moment.

"What do I need?"

_**"You need me."**_

"Still have your megalomania intact I see." Naruto rolled his eyes. The Kyuubi grinned, which was a rather gruesome sight.

_**"I know a great deal about chakra, though I know very little about human ways or the ninja arts, and as your teacher I can help you become the most powerful human that has ever lived."**_

"What can _you_ teach _me_?"

_**"The Sage of Six Paths is regarded by your people as the man who created ninjas. He had an incredible bloodline. Within him he had the Juubi, the God of All Demons, sealed, and before he passed he split this demon into nine parts, of which I am one. He did this by using Yin chakra and intent, combined with Yang chakra and vitality to give form to his desires. This is a way of interacting with chakra that has been lost by your people, and I will help you reclaim it.**_

_**"You have within you the ability to use holy chakra, and you have been exploring it recently. But as a small child you were also touched by demonic chakra, and your spirit almost certainly knows how to work with it as well in limited ways. **_

_**"This holy and demonic chakra make it easier to utilize Yin and Yang chakra separately. All ninja today have no control over how much Yin or Yang chakra they utilize, or in what way, but you can."**_

Naruto stared at the creature for almost a minute, contemplating what he'd been told.

"You mean to tell me that I could do something like... splitting demons into pieces?"

_**"It is neither that simple nor that narrow. Yin and Yang do not function on levels such as that, it is much more fundamental."**_ The fox paused. _**"Think of it like this: most humans get to paint with one or two colors, but by understanding Yin and Yang, holy and demonic, you can create colors."**_

"And what do you want in return?"

_**"Nothing. What I get in return does not concern you or this world."**_ Naruto eyed him suspiciously and the monstrous creature sighed. _**"This is my purgatory, Naruto, and you are my penance."**_

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Naruto looked out over the small village in Wave that had been the site of his first real mission. From his vantage point he could see the entire span of the bridge and the buildings on the other side. It looked far more peaceful and prosperous than the last time he was here.

It had been nearly six months since him and the Kyuubi talked, and he was now finished with his Walkabout. He had realized it the previous night actually. A Walkabout ends when you realize that all of life is a Walkabout. Perhaps he would return to Konoha soon, but he had things he wanted to do in the Elemental Countries first.

He had perfected a few new techniques involving clones that were game changing for him. Throughout his training he'd come to understand techniques to be one of three things: an action, a utility, or a multiplier. Basic clones, which were a kind of illusion, he classified as a utility, able to confuse but not to assist. Shadow clones were multipliers, able to multiply power and time for the user.

This simple categorization had led him to a conclusion that had greatly helped him: he needed as many multipliers as he could get.

So both him and the Kyuubi had developed completely original techniques to act as new multipliers, and as Naruto was most familiar with clones, most had involved them somehow.

These new techniques were just now bearing fruit, and with his new plans in motion, he wanted to learn more about the situation of the world. That meant infiltration and spying. He rubbed the back of his head softly, running his fingers over the newly placed seal on his skin.

"I wonder how they're doing?" Naruto thought out loud.

_**"Go and find out."**_

Naruto smiled. The Kyuubi wasn't much for idle thought or conversation.

He moved silently through the trees, down to the bridge, when he spotted the placard.

"_The Great Naruto Bridge_!? Is that the _name_?"

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

Hinata worked through her forms effortlessly. She had improved dramatically in the year since Naruto left, partly thanks to Neji's assistance, and partly due to her confession. It had turned on a new part of her, a part that no one, not even her, had known existed; and this part of her was determined.

As she moved through the forms, she let her mind wander.

_It's been a year to the day. A year since I told him... a year since he left._ She spiraled through a series of jabs. _He said he would send letters, but I haven't gotten a single one... did something happen to him?_

A bird landed in front of her as she finished the kata. She stared at it for a moment, curious, before it transformed with a puff.

"Na... Naruto?" She blinked, more shocked than anything. "You were... a bird?"

"Yup!" Naruto replied, smiling. "It's really, really difficult learning the details of a bird well enough to actually transform into one, but with the fox's help I figured it out. Flying is a lot faster!"

There was a whole lot about that sentence that Hinata didn't know how to react to, so instead she opted to react to the most important thing in her mind.

"You're back!" She ran up and hugged him, tackling him to the ground.

"Oof! Careful Hinata, you'll dispel me!"

She got up, confused. Dispel?

"You're... a clone?"

"Yup!" He was beaming with pride.

"But... how can... how are you traveling on your own as a clone? If you flew, then you must be far away... how can you be so far away from the original? How long did it take to get here? And why didn't tackling you dispel you?"

"Well," Naruto couldn't help but feel enthralled by the indirect praise she was giving him, "I've gotten a lot stronger. I'm a special kind of clone, one that can take a few hits."

"How..." Hinata was in awe. Such a thing was supposed to be impossible. Of course, the impossible hadn't seemed to stop Naruto before.

"If you make the body of a shadow clone out of only Yang energy, it's much more durable."

_Yang energy? How powerful are you, Naruto?_

"I haven't been sending letters," the clone said sheepishly. "Sorry." He pulled her close and gave her a tender kiss. It was thrilling, and as he pulled away she found herself speechless. "I won't be able to send messages often... I'm really busy. But I wanted to see you, and to give you a message."

"What..." she looked into his eyes intently. "What's the message?"

"I'll return to the village in one more year. I've got a note," he fished a scroll out of his pouch, "for Jiraiya. Please make sure it gets to him quickly. Tsunade will know how to reach him." He handed her the scroll.

"I'll take care of it immediately," she told him, putting the scroll in her own pouch.

"This," he said, reaching back, "is for you." He pulled out a necklace with a black stone pendant that seemed to have some kind of seal carved on it. "If you are ever in trouble, activate the seal. I'll know immediately."

She was completely stunned by the ninja that stood in front of her. He was so completely unlike the Naruto that left one year before, yet he was very much the same person, and she couldn't help but feel pride for the shinobi she loved.

"Thank you," she said, taking the necklace and putting it on. She loved the way it looked on her as well as the thought behind it. She grabbed him abruptly and gave him another, more passionate kiss. "I'll be waiting."

He nodded and disappeared with a small puff.

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

Tsunade watched as Jiraiya opened the scroll in the Hokage office. His face instantly went blank, a sure sign that he was in his professional mode.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked over her folded hands.

"It's an intelligence report," Jiraiya replied. "It has details about things he's done... He can absorb memories from clones without dispelling them... And create permanent clones? I wonder what that means... He has a true transformation technique? Hmmm... It says he's used these techniques to set up his own spy network in some places around the Elemental Countries... Tsunade, this is coded with one of my personal codes."

"He figured out how to use the Shadow Clone Technique to train," Tsunade observed. "There's no other way he could have done all these things in such a short amount of time."

"What do we do about the council?" Jiraiya asked. "Naruto is going to return in a year and he's still declared a missing nin."

"I'll take care of that," Tsunade assured him. Jiraiya glanced back at the message.

"It has a meeting a week from now on here too. In Rain Country. He wants me to come alone."

"Hmm," Tsunade mused, raising an eyebrow. "I'm giving you a mission, Jiraiya. Go to this rendezvous, meet up with Naruto, and spend the next year helping him train. It sounds like a little direction would do him some good."

"Understood." Jiraiya disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"This will be difficult to smooth over with the council..." Tsunade said to herself. "I might have to... _persuade_ them..."

**:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::xxxx:::::**

Naruto sat on the shore of a lake, relaxing. He laid back and watched the clouds roll by slowly, understanding a bit why Shikamaru enjoyed doing it so often. The memories from the clone he sent came to him, and he smiled. Jiraiya should be here in a week. He had little doubt that Tsunade would want the Sannin to train him for a little while, maybe a month or so, given the details he'd sent them. Or at least, he hoped that was the case. The details he'd included had been chosen specifically to get some training from Jiraiya, as his seal work was really rough in his opinion. And he'd spent long enough inventing, it was time to learn.

_**"You'll have to explain things to him. He won't accept your progress without an explanation besides 'Shadow Clones'."**_

"Yeah," Naruto said out loud, "but I don't know about explaining it all. Telling him I've been studying with a former demon and a minor kami might just cause more problems than it solves."

_**"He'll have to know eventually."**_ The Kyuubi grunted. _**"Well, you need to figure out what to tell him, in any case."**_

"I know," Naruto replied listlessly. "I know..."

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**Author's Note:** I'm still alive.


End file.
